My name's Tess - I'm 23 and I've got a serious case of the travel bug. Current trip: Eating, camping, hiking and WWOOFing my way across Canada.

I've just graduated as a dietitian/nutritionist. I have a love for all things food, and have become increasingly passionate about understanding the broader food system from farm to fork. This also extends to those less mainstream things like foraging, dumpster diving, and zero waste principles. Food is just this incredibly powerful thing that connect everyone; what can I say, I'm a foodie through and through.

I love the outdoors and everything mother nature has to offer, particularly camping and hiking. I think for this reason, I'm becoming increasingly interested in lower impact and sustainable lifestyles. So many cool things to learn about though and so little time!

I guess my broader mission in life is to do more, be more, and have less. I love meeting people with similar values - travellers tend to fit into that category, don't you think?

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

After first traveling solo through Europe in 2014/2015, I realised that going it alone means you're never really alone. Since then, I've travelled a lot more on my own and always find myself surrounded by awesome people who continue to open my eyes. I've learnt I suck at being a tourist, I'm meant to be a traveller.

During this trip across Canada, I've finally got the flexibility and the mindset to focus on going out of my way to find amazing people. I'm hoping to figure out what makes an incredible surfer and an incredible host so I can return the favour by hosting when I'm kind of settled :)

Interests

I love all things food!
Love the outdoors, especially hiking and camping.
Reading, traveling, photography, meeting new people, pushing myself out of my comfort zone.
I've also been loving learning / teaching myself Spanish, and now I'm refreshing my high-school French.

• horses
• photography
• exercise
• reading
• traveling
• outdoor activities
• hiking
• camping
• wwoof
• food
• farming

Music, Movies, and Books

I love a bit of everything; I'm not really one for favourites.
Reading a whole lot of non-fiction lately, bit of a personal development junkie and love dorking out over food and agriculture. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak would be my favourite novel of all time.
Always up for trashy TV.
Unfortunately a pathetic taste in music - happy for that to change :)

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I've got a long list of incredible things I've had the opportunity to do that I'd love to share with you...

But as a dinosaur nerd, putting my hand in a dinosaur footprint in the middle of nowhere in Bolivia after hiking for three days to get there would have to be up there.

Teach, Learn, Share

I have a pretty contagious positive attitude and passion for life. I don't have a whole lot to openly teach, but I'd love to share and learn things together as we go.

I guess at this point in my life I'm still in the learning phase. I'm hoping that later on, I can really give back and teach when I'm in that next stage of life. I think that's what's really cool about the sharing economy and things like CS - it's all give and take.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I think what I can share with each host will be different. I'm hoping to learn to be the best surfer I can be so if there's anything I can do to make your experience as awesome as possible, please let me know! But I hope to always be a smiling face, someone genuinely interested in any stories you have to share, and hopefully the deliverer of great wine :)

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, England, Fiji, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, United States, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia