Small but fierce, I am itching to travel and start living a more genuine life. I want to reconnect with the earth. I love learning and teaching, yet I need to learn more through experiencing the world. I tend to juggle 2-3 jobs and I am not afraid to work hard. I am pretty tired of living to work instead of working to live. Working all the time in order to pay bills and repeat the cycle is just so mundane. There is more to life than pursuit of capital... At the moment I am doing my graduate work and far too aware of the complications of a future in academia. I am actively involved in feminist organizing in my community, namely to support survivors of violence. I hold anti-oppressive values and consider myself a spiritual person. I intend to break into a backpacking lifestyle with my amazing partner Dave. I have a twin brother who travels a lot as biochemist as well as an urban explorer and photographer. I share a home with my partner (writer and studies environmental technology), my good friend (an archaeologist) and the home-owner (Jane-of-all-Trades & manager of the local tool library). Hosting may be an option in the future (depends on the needs/desires of the housemates). In addition to the four humans living here, we have three cats, a rabbit and two aquariums full of really neat aquatic creatures.
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"What is my life for and what am I going to do with it? I don't know and I’m afraid. I can never read all the books I want; I can never be all the people I want and live all the lives I want. I can never train myself in all the skills I want. And what do I want? I want to live and feel all the shades, tones, and variations of mental and physical experience possible in my life. And I am horribly limited." - Sylvia Plath

"Without justice there is no love" - bell hooks

"War is what happens when language fails" - Margaret Atwood

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

WANDERLUST. Plus, I am so eternally grateful and humbled by the amazing people I meet. It drives me to seek out more like-minded souls .I am hoping to learn from other surfers & connect with other travelers and hosts. I do not want to travel as a tourist, I want to be a respectful visitor/guest. I would love to participate in a language exchange and I welcome any backpacking advice (I am a total newbie at this). I realize that couch-surfing often works with reciprocity - so to be clear: I do not currently own the house I'm living in. There may be a possibility for hosting upon negotiation with the home-owner and house-mates (we have two spare beds in the attic).

I realize that I have no references at the moment, so I'm working to remedy that. At this point, references require soliciting in-person folks to join CS and tell the digital world that I'm a decent surfer / human being. A lot of my friends, colleagues and acquaintances travel but do so via existing or alternative social networks (hostels, friends, etc.). Similarly, I do not have a lot of friends in the position for hosting . I think I make a lot of excuses for avoiding travel... fear of uncertainty or change. I fear lacking money and have been trying to avoid financial instability. I really need to break free from this capitalist bullshit.

If you see my profile and recognize me from a crossing in our life-paths, please drop a line! I would love to catch up with old connections :)

Interests

Singing, music, nature, wildlife, animals, social justice, ecofeminism, reading, learning, art, hiking, swimming, biking, board-games & exploring (especially when the endpoint results in delicious foods or sublime nature ). I find playing and watching the playing of video games pretty entertaining. I've come to realize that I have consumed a lot of North American pop culture via movies, television and music and if I had a sharper memory I would probably be good at trivia. But if if's and but's were candy and nuts.... On the more serious side, my current research interests focuses on ethics in feminist notions of justice and nonviolent alternatives to conflict... though that's rather vague and will probably shift and change.

• animals
• pets
• cats
• wildlife
• arts
• culture
• humanities
• writing
• books
• singing
• coloring
• ethics
• coffee
• shopping
• technology
• trivia
• movies
• video games
• reading
• traveling
• juggling
• music
• cycling
• hiking
• backpacking
• surfing
• swimming
• archeology
• languages
• language exchange

Music, Movies, and Books

I have seen a lot of movies, I appreciate almost all the forms of music I hear and I love a good book. That being said it is difficult to pick any favourites. I look forward to any recommendations. I've been really interested in science fiction/fantasy themes and always appreciate a good documentary! The music I often find myself listening to would be Classic Rock, Alternative Rock, Grunge, Metal and Punk. Also various female artists with powerful voices that I can sing along with. It is hard to describe by genre, each artist can be so unique and there are too many to name!

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Organized and attended protests with powerful people.
Swam with a dolphin.
Snorkeled in a coral reef.
Met my life-partner.
Got into graduate school.
Left toxicity behind.

Teach, Learn, Share

I would love to do a language exchange, I speak Canadian English (yes, I say 'eh' a lot). I learned basic Canadian French for five years in school but I would consider myself a beginner. I studied Latin for three years which greatly improved my understanding of language. I am interested in learning Spanish and improving my French but I am open to learning any other languages!

What I Can Share with Hosts

Well I spent about seven years working at a coffee shop so I can be pretty sure that I'm good at making coffee. I've been told that I'm funny - so that should imply that I am funny? What a strange personality trait, being funny - it seems more like a matter of opinion. Anyways - I love to share a laugh and I'm down for some deep conversations. I can share photos of adorable pets! Sometimes I construct embroidery friendship bracelets in order to relax. Colouring books help too. I can share a love of learning (and unlearning!) and a desire to follow one's passion (while keeping compassionate toward self and others). I am an experienced bunny keeper so I have some knowledge about house rabbit care and health. I have significant experience planning , organizing and promoting fundraising events, demonstrations, protests and some workshops. I have experience working with people who struggle with mental health and survivors of violence. I believe in equity and power-sharing. I want to learn from others, I want to listen to their stories and ideas. I want to be more connected to the earth. From an academic standpoint - I have strong research skills and written expression, as well as significant experience peer-reviewing and editing academic work. I am increasingly improving my writing and presentation skills for the academic world. Sometimes it feels like learning double-speak. I have some experience assisting in teaching university-level humanities courses on gender and peace. I have slowly started to make my own skin-care products (eczema breakouts can be vicious) and cleaning products (safer than chemicals with all the animals). I have a wealth of random knowledge (which sometimes I can remember) thanks to eclectic interests and a strange Mum with a penchant for trivia and Jeopardy.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada