I am Michelle. At the moment I live in Genoa, Italy as an AUpair for the summer.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

The best part about couchsurfing to me is the food exchange and that fun feeling of foreign-ness. Sometimes when traveling by plane and staying in a hotel, the mystery of being in a different country is no longer there. because these modern luxuries elide and merge our differences.

I believe that staying in the home of someone in a foreign country allows me to remain detached and able to see the fun in things, which is why I travel in the first place- to find different things that I would not find at home- and the more places that I go, the harder it is to find unique things.

Couchsurfing is a way to share the un-tamed culture, which we easily forget is there when traveling in this era.

Interests

Practicing an Ayurvedic lifestyle and healing- such as yoga, self-massages, eating clean and seasonally, aroma therapy, etc...

• culture
• writing
• fashion
• photography
• dancing
• flamenco
• environment
• dining
• cooking
• recipes
• coffee
• vegan
• fitness
• yoga
• running
• drinking
• gardening
• shopping
• thrifting
• reading
• traveling
• history
• tourism

Music, Movies, and Books

I grew up with a very mixed influence of music. I enjoy listening to foreign music at the moment.

I want to read everything that I come across.... books about feminism, food, politics, novels, newspaper articles, newsletters... I have recently found comfort in reading long blogs of travel writers such as Pico Iyer, and novels by Paulo Coelho.
My favorite author is Zadie Smith.
Favorite Book: Notes on a Foreign Country by Susan Hansen.
As a young girl I read mystery novels by Nancy Drew that my mother bought for me.
As an adolescent I read legal thrillers by John Grisham from my mother's collection.
I liked the satire/humor of Kurt Vonnegut when I was an angsty college student.
Alan Watts has made a positive impact on the way I view heavy life stuff ;)

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I think it is amazing that I trekked the Spanish Pyrenees for 10 days!

Teach, Learn, Share

Share stories!

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can tell you about life in the US, I come from one of those provincial small towns that are terrifyingly sheltered from the world.

Countries I’ve Visited

Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Jordan, Portugal, Romania, Senegal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Tunisia, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Italy, Spain, United States