I am a 20 year old Vietnamese/Belgian/American citizen. Yes I know, it is a lot. To make a long story short, my dad is originally from Belgium, and I was adopted from Vietnam. When I was smaller my family moved to the US. I currently reside in Littleton, Colorado, USA.

Growing up, I attended Laura Ingles Wilder as my primary school. From there I attended Goddard Middle School. And lastly I attended Littleton High School as my higher secondary school. Last year I studied at Ramapo College of New Jersey. Due to several factors, I decided to move back home, and now I study at Metropolitan State University at Denver, with the aspirations of studying at the University of Colorado-Boulder. My current major is Exercise Physiology with a minor in Nutrition.

Ever since I was a small child I have been involved with athletics. Starting off being a competitive swimmer, I then moved onto playing baseball and soccer. In high school I was a 4 time state qualifier for swimming, and then proceeded on to swimming in college. Now I have taken up triathlon, and aspire to turn professional one day.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

This summer, my sister and I will be traveling around Europe. Both my sister and I love to meet new and interesting people. We also love to connect with locals to figure out how THEY live as apposed to what happens in our life.

Couch Surfed
*Vienna, 2015, Hemma

Interests

Anything that involves athletics. One of my favorite sports is triathlon. Recently I just completed Ironman Texas which was the North American Championship. I placed 5th in my age group and placed in the top 10% overall.

• exercise
• triathlon
• traveling
• bouldering
• music
• sports
• baseball
• soccer
• swimming

Music, Movies, and Books

I love to listen to any type of music. Some of my favorites include, Hip Hop/Rap, Rock, and Country. Yes, there is some weird variation, but I really do love ALL types of music.

One of my favorite movies is Coneheads. I think it resembles my life in a way. I believe the deeper meaning is to always be yourself, and never let anyone tell you that your different. Life is to short. Enjoy it while you can.

I don't have a favorite book as I do not care for reading. Although I do love to read textbooks and manuals about triathlon, and athletics. One of my favorites is Triathlon Science by Joel Friel.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

My senior year of high school, I traveled to Japan with the Littleton High School band. We were in Japan to learn about the devastating effects of the recent tsunami and earthquake. We were there with the band to use music as a way to connect us with the locals and to bring back a sense of livelihood in their communities. Our mission was to learn about prevention of earthquakes, interact with the locals, and share magnificent stories.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can share my wonderful traveling experiences with my family and I can share the vast array of knowledge that I contain about athletics.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, China, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Poland, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States