www.shestillsmiles.tumblr.com

I love to laugh.
I strive to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.
I find joy in seeing others reach their highest potential.
The desire to understand and be understood runs deep.
I insist on loving my creator despite my shortcomings.
I wish to be an advocate for those who have no voice.

"I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will."

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Travel is extraordinary conversations with ordinary people. It’s waiters, bus drivers, and housekeepers becoming the most interesting people in the world. It’s churches, coffee shops, and bookstores that are compelling enough to enter. It’s McDonald’s being a luxury. It’s the realization that you may have been born in the wrong country. Travel is a smile that leads to a conversation in broken English. It’s the epiphany that pretty girls smile the same way all over the world. Travel is the same white T-shirt again tomorrow. Travel is flowing in the back of a bus with giggly strangers. It’s a street full of bearded backpackers looking down at maps. Travel is wishing for one more bite of whatever that just was. It’s the rediscovery of walking somewhere. It’s sharing a bottle of chardonnay on a layover with a new friend. Travel is “Maybe I don’t have to do it that way when I get back home..

Interests

Trekking, Philosophy, International Relations, Human Rights, Hiking, Cooking, Old Movies, Biking, Running, Pilates.

• cooking
• coffee
• triathlon
• pilates
• running
• walking
• movies
• traveling
• cycling
• hiking
• cartography

Music, Movies, and Books

Authors: Dostoyevsky, Isabel Allende, Henry David Thoreau, LeoTolstoy, C.S Lewis, Jhumpa Lahiri, Franz Kafka, Jane Eyre, Kierkegaard.

Movies: Singin’ in the Rain, Cinema Paradiso, It's a Wonderful Life, Forrest Gump, Gladiator, The Godfather, The Dark Night, Ben Hur, Star Wars, Schindler’s List, V for Vendetta, Saving Private Ryan, Pride and Prejudice

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I completed the Chicago Triathlon! It was an amazing (but mostly tiring) experience. :)

Teach, Learn, Share

I enjoy meeting people who are curious and passionate about what they do.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Egypt, El Salvador, England, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Mexico, Monaco, Morocco, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Chile, Colombia, France, United States