ABOUT ME

This Summer I will be visiting Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia. I'm planning to travel with my friend Tessa. We are both in grad school and from California. We are both avid travelers that love to hike, kayak, explore, and see the sights.

I took a few year break from couch surfing because I wasn't able to surf or host for the last few years, but now I'm ready to join in again. Right now I am in Grad School, and about to travel for the summer. I apologize to anyone who sent me a message over the last few years. It took me a long time to get back on here after it transitioned to being a paid subscription.

I finished my Psych degree 2013 and then set off in August 2013 to travel Europe and the Middle East for a year. This was my first real trip outside of the USA. I started in Spain and took trains for the first three months in Western Europe, but after that it was almost all hitch hiking. I started hitch hiking when I got to Germany and then continued all the way to Turkey. I fell in love with hitch hiking a bit.
I almost never stay in hostels or hotels...unless I'm volunteering or working there. I prefer to couch surf or camp. I've done a couple helpx volunteer jobs that were a blast (at one I was trained to be a certified raw food chef). In general I like trying new opportunities that come my way. I've found that most situations I've run into haven't been as difficult as you would expect them to be...hitch hiking is a good example of this. And if situations do get a little wild, usually you can handle it. Traveling for a year sometimes challenged me, but usually it just presented me with new enjoyable experiences. And from day to day I surprised myself with how at home I could feel as a foreigner, which was often due to all the helpful people I met.

PHILOSOPHY

Accepting yourself for who you are is one of the greatest joys in life, and its even better when you can inspire others to do the same. Gender equality is great and important, too.
I think too many people make excuses for not traveling, one of them being lack of funds, but when it comes down too it that's still just an excuse. You can always make time for travel if you want to, and besides flight costs, you can travel for almost nothing. In fact, traveling without money is a great opportunity to try new things and go out of your comfort zone. A lot of people who tell you that it can't be done are underestimating themselves and you.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I usually stay with people, recommend the site, go to some meet ups, find people to travel with on it, and help new people make profiles from time to time. But I would like to host whenever I can.

I am trying to get into a situation where I can host again, but it's a little tricky with not having my own place right now.

Not into CS hook up culture. CS shouldn't be about that. Sorry to include that...but it's good to be up front.

I've met a lot of really great people. So many hosts have taught me so much about their country and opened my eyes to different ways of living. I think when you stay at someone's home you get a great opportunity to get to know them very fast. And in general I find that couch surfers are an adventurous bunch with forward thinking ideas, so I feel lucky to get to hang out with people like that!

Interests

I like to hike, camp, craft, drink, eat, hot tub, talk, walk around cities, try new things, dance, watch street musicians, and so much more! My new goal is to learn a second language and I'm incredibly impressed by all the people who can speak more than one tongue.

• dancing
• dining
• raw food
• running
• drinking
• traveling
• hiking
• camping
• volunteering

Music, Movies, and Books

I'm currently stuck on Game of Thrones!

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Hitch hiking from Berlin to Turkey! Also, protesting illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine!

Teach, Learn, Share

"Live light, travel light, spread the light, be the light" I found this on my Yogi tea tag and found it quite appropriate to CS

What I Can Share with Hosts

I love sharing experiences, alcohol, and laughs. I'm almost always down to explore...but I definitely love having a chill night in or somewhere mellow (it's great to have some down time when your traveling).

Also, let me know if there's anything you'd like me to bring or what not!

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Belize, Canada, Costa Rica, England, Fiji, France, Germany, Guatemala, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Palestine, Romania, Scotland, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Vatican City State, Wales

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, New Zealand, Turkey, United States

•