My current mission is to slow down. I've been traveling and living abroad for much of the past five years, and it's been incredible, but I'm finally starting to move towards semi-responsible almost-adulthood. Starting grad school in the fall. Becoming a social worker. Getting married to this awesome human: https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/mikamachalek

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I've surfed, hosted, and gone to meetings on around five continents. I love the mission of the organization, and try to embrace it in my day-to-day life. I rarely use the Couchsurfing platform these days, but it was one of the things that got me traveling many years ago.

Interests

Burning Man (2012, '13, '14, '15) and other conscious art/music festivals, human services, photography, fire spinning, languages and cultures, international politics, debate, and snowboarding.

• arts
• photography
• make up
• music festivals
• festivals
• dining
• cooking
• walking
• politics
• traveling
• music
• hiking
• scuba diving
• snowboarding
• rock climbing
• languages
• social work
• tourism
• volunteering
• lakes

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

From every country I've been to:

-Seeing how things are done at AfrikaBurn in South Africa
-Learning to love Berlin, Germany
-Floating in a mud volcano near Cartagena, Colombia
-Cruising through the Galapagos, Ecuador
-The majesty of Iguazu Falls, Argentina
-Salt flats as far as the eye can see at Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia
-Hiking all over Machu Picchu, Peru
-The coolest bars in the world in Budapest, Hungary
-Beautiful forests, lakes, and hippies in British Columbia, Canada
-Sunrise over hundreds and hundreds of ancient temples in Bagan, Burma
-A concrete park of Buddhist statues made by someone obviously on drugs outside Vientiane, Laos
-Releasing lanterns to fill the sky at Yi Peng festival in Chiang Mai, Thailand
-The most vivid sunsets I've seen in my life in Negombo, Sri Lanka
-Speeding along mountain roads on a scooter through endless waves of bright green tea plantations in Munnar, India
-Volunteering for three weeks over Christmas with 30 amazing orphans in Kathmandu, Nepal
-The Bone Church at Kutna Hora, Czech Republic
-Taking a hot air balloon ride over Cappadocia, Turkey
-Exploring the ruins of a Crusader castle near Lattakia, Syria
-Climbing the Acropolis in Athens, Greece
-Enjoying beautiful sunrise with brand new and amazing friends over Alexandria harbor, Egypt
-Walking around the ancient Roman ruins of Baalbek, Lebanon
-New Year's Eve fireworks over Sydney Harbor, Australia
-Sunset over a volcano in Ometepe, Nicaragua
-The majesty of La Alhambra in Granada, Spain
-Diving into underground lakes outside of Progreso, Mexico
-Spending 18 years exploring Glacier National Park in Montana, USA

Teach, Learn, Share

-Teach. I know a lot about politics and current events, especially in the US and the Middle East. If there's something that you've never understood and want to learn more about, I might be able to explain it to you. I also think I'm a very good tour guide, wherever I'm living, and can tell you a lot about the place.

-Learn. I would LOVE to learn how to cook something from wherever you live or are from. I'm not a very experienced cook but really want to be able to spread food from different places around the world. If you have the patience to teach me, I'd be really happy to spend some time in the kitchen helping and learning. Also, Mika's pretty awesome in the kitchen, so she can make up for how useless I am. :)

-Share. I've got a lot of pretty sweet music that's obscure but really cool. Depending on what sort of stuff you're into, I might have something you've never heard of but will love, and I'll burn you a huge piles of CDs or put it on your iPod. I also love looking at people's photography from their travels--some people can do amazing things with a camera.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Canada, Czech Republic, Egypt, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Laos, Lebanon, Mexico, Myanmar, Nepal, Nicaragua, Peru, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Turkey

Countries I’ve Lived In

Ecuador, Lebanon, Thailand, Turkey, United States

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