My name is Nirupa Umapathy. I live in New Jersey, United States. I am new to Couchsurfing although I have used other Shared Economy apps extensively, including AirBNB and more recently workaway.com

I am originally from India, having left my home country, when I was 18 to pursue college in the US, leaving behind my incredible, loving family. I graduated with a double major in Anthropology and Economics from Smith College in 2002. After graduation, I started my career in finance on Wall Street.

I recently departed from my 14 year career in finance. While, I am very proud of my accomplishments and my growing professional standing, there was a deep seated yearning to go back to studying people, cultures and human behaviors, which took shape as a student of anthropology. I have committed this year to traveling the world and gather material for a writing project. Writing was always a hobby for me but this year, I have decided to dedicate more time to it and cultural immersion. I use travel actively as a means of “field study”, and have formed many enriching new relationships. I have been traveling since January 20th of this year and I expect to do so all of this year and perhaps next year.

Despite the demands of my career, I tried to live as full a life as I could outside of work. I am a keen practitioner of yoga and am trained to teach pilates. I am a big believer in living an integrated and holistic life, one that gives importance to mind, body and spiritual health. I am not an active practitioner of religion, but I do believe in spiritual wholeness and am respectful of other’s beliefs and practices. My other interests include, languages, music, design, books, food and wine.

I am a person of high integrity and values and am close to my family. My parents have instilled in my sister and I the need to live a simple and honest life, while being respectful of others and respecting values and principles that derive from other cultures and systems. I was married for 8 years and in a long relationship for many years prior to that. I am now divorced and single, which has given me the flexibility to travel around the world. Away from my original home, I have an incredibly rich community of friends, with whom I am close.

I am an active member of my community and believe in actively contributing to community building and development.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I am traveling the world this year and would like to meet new people from different cultures and backgrounds primarily through the shared economy and collaborative economy apps. I have most recently used Workaway and had two very incredible experiences. Please ask for references.

Interests

• culture
• writing
• books
• design
• interior design
• music festivals
• wine
• yoga
• pilates
• music
• live music
• electronic music
• anthropology
• cultural studies
• teaching
• travel
• food
• learning
• positive thinking
• critical thinking
• design thinking

Music, Movies, and Books

Experimental electronic music, world music, rock
1Q84 and anything by Haruki Murakami
The Lion

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Traveling the world alone

Teach, Learn, Share

Pilates and English
Learn design
Share food and cooking and healthy recipes
Share experiences and laughter

What I Can Share with Hosts

My experiences growing up in India and living in America. My experiences and knowledge from finance. My current adventure and journey of being on sabbatical and self-teaching myself a whole bunch of things. Good food and memories.

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, Bhutan, British Indian Ocean Territory, Cambodia, Canada, England, France, Germany, Guatemala, Italy, Laos, Mexico, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Peru, Spain, Sri Lanka, Thailand, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

England, India, United States