Hi! My name is Meghan and I just graduated from university. I am intending travel long-term starting June 2017 and will keep going until I run out of money. I am very adventurous: I'm obsessed with eating and trying new foods, participating in different cultures and exploring islands both on land and in the water. Seeing a country, city, or landscape from the view of a local is my ultimate goal while traveling, and I am willing to live very simply and humbly in order to do that. Other than that, I love football (soccer), beer and tropical environments. I studied Environmental Science and Spanish in college, and as a result I am in love with Latin America.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I want to see the world through the eyes of locals. What better way than living in the home of one and being their friend??

Interests

• beer
• hiking
• canoeing
• snorkeling
• soccer
• food
• football
• spicy food
• sunsets
• islands
• speaking spanish
• tropics

Music, Movies, and Books

Reggae, jazz, electronic. I like nonfiction books about tropical regions of the world, social enterprise, and inspiring true stories.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

For a week, I lived with a Guna family on a residential island in the Guna Yala comarca on Panamá's Caribbean coast. I had to get permission from the chief, and I was permitted to enter because I was doing scientific research on the sea grass in the area. Needless to say, this was the most amazing/thrilling/scary/adventurous thing I've ever done-- I was completely alone on an island the size of a football field, and I was the only non-Guna person present. This indigenous group is known for their colorful and complex dress, which for women includes a woven design on the blouse (mola) and a piece of fabric wrapped around the waist. They also wear gold earrings and nose rings (septum), keep their hair short with a red bandana on top, and have beads covering their forearms and lower legs that they design themselves. I ate fish right out of the sea every single day, and participated in a coming-of-age ceremony, a traditional wedding, a wood harvest on the mainland, and a coconut harvest with my host family on a neighboring island.

It was.....just AMAZING! And the most primitive way of living I have ever experienced. I wouldn't have minded staying for longer to be honest.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Stories over a nice, cold beer! And answer any questions about the United States.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, England, France, Honduras, Panama, Thailand, Uruguay

Countries I’ve Lived In

Argentina, Panama, United States