CURRENT MISSION

Destination, Southeast Asia. Ready to explore, volunteer and soul-search.

ABOUT ME

I'm currently traveling in China, soon to head to Southeast Asia.

I'm a native Texan, wannabe foodie, and digital advertising nerd. I live in downtown Austin, TX with my boyfriend, Nick, and we love riding our bikes to wherever the action is. As long as I'm moving (preferably outside), I'm pretty happy.

My previous travels have mostly consisted of Central and South America. My sis-in-law owns a marketing firm that caters to small luxury hotels so I've been lucky to be able to stay in some of the most amazing hotels in the world. Now, I can't wait to see the world through a more realistic lens. Nick and I will be traveling in Southeast Asia until about the beginning of the summer of 2011 (maybe longer if opportunity arises!).

I hope to find lots of volunteering opportunities along the way. I'm specifically interested in volunteering in an intimate setting with more rural locals. I'm looking to help in ways that have a large impact, even if they seem menial.

Our cumulative experiences have helped me realize that there is more to life than pushing products and obtaining material wealth. My and Nick's combined possessions occupy a 5ftx10ft space :)

Anyway, I'm ready to put American life on hold for an experience of a lifetime.

I'm new to CouchSurfing and Nick and I will be looking for places that can host us together. We're really easy to please and very respectful! We are interested in hosts that want to hang out and show us the lesser traveled paths OR hosts that take a more hands-off approach. We're happy and flexible.

PHILOSOPHY

Sure, I'll try it.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I hope to stay with some interesting folks while on my SE Asia trip. When I return, I'll likely be living in California, where I plan to host people often!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I'm new to the community but I can't wait to start surfing!

I've lived with roommates that host via CouchSurfing and met folks from Germany, Australia, Chile, so many places.

Interests

running, volleyball, talk radio, art, hiking, swimming, being in the sun, eating delicious ethnic food, testing my hot-sauce threshold, riding bikes, quoting movies, voting for Obama, tech advances, blogging, science, discussions over drinks, high-fiving, dirty jokes, slamming beers and staying respectful :)

• arts
• design
• dining
• beer
• running
• drinking
• technology
• movies
• traveling
• blogging
• hiking
• cave diving
• surfing
• scuba diving
• volleyball
• swimming
• languages
• law
• science
• volunteering

Music, Movies, and Books

LOVE movies. Comedy, action, documentary, or anything obscure. I like to watch a lot of TV series...MadMen is my current favorite but I also love Dexter.

I'm from Austin so, naturally, I love hearing different types of music. I'm open to almost anything - indie, punk, rap, blues, metal, soul. Anything is great if the beat is right...

Radiohead, Beastie Boys, Al Green, The Sword, Johnny Cash, David Bowie, Tears for Fears, Deadboy & the Elephant Men, LCD Soundsystem, TuPac, JayZ, Black Keys...

I'll read anything. I listen to a lot of audio books and podcasts but I love reading science, tech and art blogs and mags.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

My first diving experience was a cave dive in the cenotes on the Yucatan peninsula. Dangerous, yes. But I was pretty ignorant of the risks involved and I was surrounded by professionals that seemed confident. I wasn't aware of the danger until after-the-fact. Probably best. I'm still kicking!

Teach, Learn, Share

I'm a designer and a problem solver. I work in advertising so I wear whatever the required hat of the moment happens to be. I'm somewhat technical and have a good understanding of interactive experiences...as vague of a statement as that is.

On a less serious note, I enjoy doing manual labor. Getting my hands dirty and helping to build structures or prepare spaces for functional purposes.

I'd love to learn more languages. I speak some Spanish (enough to get around) but want very much to expand my lingual spectrum.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, China, France, Honduras, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Peru, United Kingdom, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States

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