ABOUT ME

High school classmates once likened me to Anne of Green Gables. In case my fellow couch surfers know not of this Canadian classic, one might depict Anne as imaginative, chatty and a little over eager. (I haven't actually read the books since I was 11 or 12, but the comparison probably still holds.)

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I'm seemingly perpetually semi post-university, and meeting people through travel can be its own kind of continuing education. I love travelling solo and seeing beautiful places, but it's the people one meets along the way that always stand out most.

Interests

- I love a good chat. It helps broach the gap that isolates us in our heads. I like to share what I'm thinking, and appreciate the chance to learn how other people experience the world. There's nothing better than a really great discussion.

- Reading. Fiction mostly. Playing pretend was my obsession as a child, and books provide another way for me to engage my imagination. Most of my non fiction reading seems to happen on Twitter or in reading online think pieces these days...

- Horse-riding. Dressage in particular: the perfectionist's riding option! (I tried my hand at jumping, but I was too anxious to enjoy it. The adrenaline induced by physical jeopardy that thrill seekers enjoy most just makes me a bit nauseous instead!)

- Cycling! I own two bicycles at home (one cute mixte bike for my daily commute to work and a vintage touring bike for longer rambly rides around the country side.)

- Listening to music. If only I could fill a pool with music and swim in it! Though I find my mixes are poor fodder for party playlists as they tend towards the melancholic.

- Watching TV (typically acquired from the thieves' dens of torrents and online-streaming sites.) I like a lot of genre stuff (if it's set in space, I'm there. )

- Archaeology/anthropology. I focused part of my degree on this and nearly pursued it further. I started off mostly interested in following the clues left behind by cultures we can no longer access, but by the end of my degree I found living culture more engaging, both physical (in how we shape technology) and digital (in how culture manifests itself in non-physical spaces.)

- Coffee drinking. Mmm. Plus coffee shops are great venues for talking, reading, writing and even internet...ing. Great places for people watching and pastry consuming too!

- Traveling (suppose this goes without saying on couch surfing! )

-Board-game playing: Nothing like a rousing game of Catan!

• writing
• books
• dancing
• coffee
• walking
• board games
• reading
• tv
• traveling
• music
• cycling
• swimming
• beaches
• horse riding
• cities
• pastry
• bicycles
• vintage fashion

Music, Movies, and Books

Too many to list but here are some current high circulation selections and old favourites.

Books: Franny & Zooey, Pride & Prejudice, The Sun Also Rises, Women in Love, Burmese Days, Brave New World, Cryptonomicon, Song of Ice & Fire, Brideshead Revisited, Anathem, The Chrysalids, A Fire Upon the Deep, Breakfast of Champions, Watership Down, Persepolis, The God of Small Things...

Movies: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Royal Tenenbaums, Amelie, The Lion King, Dancer in the Dark, Gattaca, Ghost in the Shell, LOTR, Princess Mononoke, Trainspotting, The Last Unicorn, Donnie Darko, What We Do in the Shadows, Like Father Like Son

Music: Regina Spektor, M83, Nina Simone, Arcade Fire, Radiohead, Fleet Foxes, Beach House, Arctic Monkeys, Moby, Simon & Garfunkel, The Kinks, Sam Cooke, Tokyo Police Club, Massive Attack, Leonard Cohen, Cat Power, Wolf Parade, Pixies, MGMT, Austra, Stars, Miike Snow, Beirut, etc etc

TV: Game of Thrones, IT Crowd, Bored to Death, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Arrested Development, Life On Mars (UK), Dead Like Me, Black Books, Farscape, The Venture Bros, ST: TNG, Hannibal, The Good Wife, The Good Fight, Silicon Valley, The Expanse,

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Excavating an Incan fortress in the Andes.
Galloping a horse along the beach.
Riding a bike from Seattle to Portland (200 miles/320km) in 2 days.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can do a few steps of moon-walking and am always happy to show others how.

I've also got a knack for making a helium/chipmunks-esque voice (it's definitely teachable!)

I'm always happy to learn new things (always wanted to perfect sailors knots...)

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Ecuador, England, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Taiwan, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada