CURRENT MISSION

traveling the world, learning from cultures, and leaving it better than i found it

ABOUT ME

i love the Lord, children, the world and its people and its eclectic cultures. my heart and life have totally transformed by Jesus, and I would more than love to share that with you! i love cooking and hospitality. i love sunny days and beaches; or rainy days when im sick in bed. i love being creative and making things; and i love being a free spirt without any real obligations to a husband children or career yet, but i do long for those things. i tend to be really aggressive towards different things for a short period of time. for example, i'll work out hard core for like two weeks, or diet hard for two weeks, or become really passionate about the next step in my life for a few days; and then all that passion turns right back into habit. I guess you could say i'm a big dreamer, i just have trouble committing to things long enough to really capitalize on all my dreams. i majored in print media, but my passion is children and people. i want to make the world a better place, and that starts at home. recycle, anything you can, even if its just a few bottles a month. i have a whole list of passions and things i thrive on; just ask. i almost always forget to shut the lid on the washer, and although my clothes are always clean, i can rarely manage to put them all away at once. i only have a few pet peeves: don't smoke inside and don't leave the brita water pitcher empty. i change my hairstyle more often than i should, but that keeps things interesting. i've been through more than it may seem like, but i'll probably never talk about any of it. i rarely drink, but if i do, you can almost guarantee that its malibu and pineapple. my fight typing the word "guarantee" reminds me that i would seem a lot more ignorant if it weren't for spell check. one of the greatest, most beautiful places i have ever been was ethiopia. nothing can compare to the hospitality of the people i met there. god's grace was abounding. i have my masters in learning and teaching, and presented my thesis on teaching in a developing nation. my heart belongs in haiti, even if my feet are on american soil. for now. i'm in the application process with the Peace Corps, and am so excited for this new season of life.

PHILOSOPHY

this is a new season i'm walking into, and i'm excited about it. i've had a revelation that pretty much every area of my life doesn't fit. it all looks just like I thought it would and should; on paper. there was a perfect man, a great career, a thriving church family. but, all of it ... just didn't fit. the revelation came that it doesn't fit because it's not supposed to. what God has for me is so much more, and better.

find what fits, for you. not what you think should fit. not what fits other people. find what doesn't fit, and be okay with letting it go.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

i hosted several times at my old house, but the new roomies aren't as quite free spirits as i am so now i'm just trying to do my own couch surfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Our first couch surfing experience was in Arles, France this past April. Our host Geoffrey was a great example as to how we should be as hosts :) i've also couch surfed in belize with marcus, who was super social and hospitable.

We've hosted a group from Seattle, someone with an early flight out of Nashville, two great Danes (and i don't mean the dogs), a Roman, a French-Canadian, met some guys from Brooklyn for dinner, and Haryz- who stayed 2 1/2 weeks! i love meeting new people and getting to know their stories!

Interests

jesus. children. photography. Haiti. good music. great friends. strangers. traveling. tangible history. hospitality. spontaneity. culture. redemption.

• pets
• dogs
• culture
• writing
• photography
• cooking
• dieting
• working out
• walking
• drinking
• clothing
• traveling
• music
• surfing
• skydiving
• communications
• teaching
• history
• beaches
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

music: anything on coffeehouse XM, missy higgins, mumford, mat kearney, hanson, brett dennen.

not a big movie buff; i totes fall asleep in theaters. but trust me, if it's cheesy, girly, romantic, or just plain awful, i probably like it.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Top 5 things i've seen:
The stars off the mountain side in Campabasso, Italy
Pont du Gard, southern france
Eiffel Tower (its fascinated me since I was 5)
the night we got 5 inches of snow in Nashville
the birth of my niece.
ethiopia.
Haiti from the coast. Haiti from the mountains. Haiti from the Citadele. Haiti from my heart.
okay, i cheated. that was more than 5.
and i've been skydiving. but i'm really not that cool.

Teach, Learn, Share

I enjoy being an elementary teacher because I can teach children the basic fundamentals of right and wrong. But i also want to be able to teach acceptance. To teach that we each have our differences, but not to be scared of the differences: to embrace them, to learn from them.

I want to learn how to jump whole heartedly into something I love. I've only done that once and that was a relationship. I'm talking about a place, a career, a passion, a purpose.

I can teach you to cook, sew, some basic french language, a little bit about photography or writing, and i just taught my dog to play dead.

I want to learn how to surf, how to make my own bathing suit (although i have attempted that once!), to become fluent in french, to be a better writer or photographer, and how to put all of my laundry away, everytime.

We can share our stories, our photos, our insight, our faith, our knowledge, our experience, our travels. Or a malibu and pineapple.

Countries I’ve Visited

Belize, Ethiopia, France, Italy, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Haiti, United States

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