World traveler who has seemingly settled in Alaska. Of all the places I lived and traveled to, Juneau (the capital) really appealed to me because it is pretty small for a capital city but has all the amenities like shopping, movie theaters, and museums but the roads are never too crowded. It only takes 15 minutes to get anywhere in town. Juneau is only accessible by plane or boat so you can’t get very far by driving, but there is a lot of good hiking and harvesting (both berries and fish). So you get the best of the Alaska wilderness but with urban amenities.

I am a mother of two boys and hope to one day bring them on travels with me. Whenever they leave Alaska, they are so impressed by the options and layout of bigger cities. They have never traveled overseas except through Canada but I will wait till they are a little older before bringing them with me. I hope to take them to Thailand in 2026 to meet my family.

Haven’t been overseas in several years and finally renewed my passport looking forward to traveling again. I enjoy everything that each new location brings.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

It’s been a while since I’ve traveled. I’ve actually never stayed with someone through the website, but I used to host travelers at my house in Thailand. It was really fun to meet people from around the world and hear why they were choosing to travel. I enjoyed sharing my local knowledge with them to help with their:

Interests

I love to cook and watch shows about cooking, especially ones like chopped where they have to get creative with what they are given. Alaska sometimes has a hard time getting fresh produce and ingredients and so I love to try new things and especially eat fresh produce and unique flavor pairing.

Where we live in Alaska, we don’t get as many live productions such as musicals, opera, concerts, or big live theatre productions so I love to engage in local arts scenes.

• writing
• education
• cooking
• recipes
• reading
• teaching

Music, Movies, and Books

I love musicals so I especially love movies about musicals or music from musicals. I did a lot of theatre when I was in High School. I think part of the reason that I enjoyed being a preschool teacher was that I was paid to sing, dance, play with puppets, and dress up as different characters for lessons.

I read a lot and enjoy most genres, I keep a bookstagram page (@glacierbutterflyreads) for my book reviews. Books I recently enjoyed are: “Why fish don’t exist” by Lulu Miller, “Transcendent Kingdom” by Yaa Gyasi, “Stolen” by Ann-Helene Larstadius, “Bird Girl” by Mya-Rose Craig, “Babel” by RF Kuang, “Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow” by Gabrielle Zevin.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

The Yi-peng lantern release in Thailand is pretty amazing. People gather and release 10,000 floating lanterns at the same time. There is music, dancing, and food and you feel so connected in that special moment when you let go of the lantern and watch it float away.

Teach, Learn, Share

Used to be a preschool teacher and now work for the Alaska Department of Education. It’s very enjoyable work since it crosses so many different areas such as workforce development, childcare, K-12 schooling, public safety, and more. US has a long way to go compared to other parts of the world so I always enjoy learning about how systems are set up in other countries.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can share about life in Alaska, what it was like to grow up around the world, and my experiences growing up as someone who is both Thai and American and finding my identity and passions in life. These passions include early childhood education, which I got my masters degree in and am currently working in the field. My other big passion is food and cooking. My new house has a big kitchen and since we don’t have a lot of international cuisine, I have had to learn how to cook things like Korean banchan or Ethiopian Injera. I would love to cook for my host especially if they like spicy food.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, China, Egypt, Fiji, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Italy, New Zealand, Spain, Tonga, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

India, Morocco, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Thailand