CURRENT MISSION

My continuing mission...to boldly go where no one has gone before!!!

ABOUT ME

I have been travelling as much as possible since college about 6-7 years ago, and am totally addicted to it. So far I've hit 36 countries on all six of the inhabited Continents, and if Antarctica had natives (penguins excluded) I'd have gone there too! This world is an amazing place and people shouldn't have to be rich to explore a good chunk of it! I normally stay in hostels because you can meet people, visit places together, and most of all, they're super cheap! This site makes the world even more accessable, and is based on helping other travellers (the best type of people in the world), just like so many locals in others places, have helped me. I was totally into World Travel for a good bit, did most of the major chunks, and now that I just turned 30 I'm ready to explore a bit of America. I've actually never done the Pacific Coast Highway or The Grand Canyon, which is insane they're both just a few hours away, and consistently rated the best coastal drive and tourist site in the world, respectively! I love learning about new cultures, ideas, viewpoints, etc. I love to have my paradigms challenged through deep and meaningful conversations about all topics interesting, controversial, or both. Oh, I love animals, especially dogs, but am allergic to cats :(

PHILOSOPHY

My personal philosophy has changed alot since I graduated college (undergrad) in late 2004. I used to think that I would be happy if I could just...(fill in the blank)...go on one more amazing trip, get one more degree, or get that awesome job, etc. Through some reading and reflection I now know that deferring one's happiness until some later point in time, "when things will be perfect" is just a pipe dream and that there will always be an "I'll be happy when..." type circumstance. I now try to fully and consciously "live in the moment" and know that absolutely everything is perfect right now, in this moment, for me to be content, happy, grateful, and overjoyed.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I am brand new to this site, but really want to dive right in. This seems a little bit like facebook on steroids, meaning that you don't just have to chat with random people, but actually have the opportunity to meet them, show them around, and connect in meaningful ways. I would love to crash at some cool places and learn more about this crazy world we live in.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Like I said, I'm brand new to this site, but willing to dive right in. I don't have any experiences yet, but will updates this with (hopefully) some really amazing ones in the near future.

Interests

Other things I really enjoy: READING!!! Learning random and amazing things (I'm like a human sponge!). I enjoy hanging out with friends, eating out, hanging with my family (we all live very close to each other), summer BBQ's/Pool Parties, chess, Texas Hold Em, and driving around new places where I've never been. I also have a weird fascination with maps; I love just staring at them and imagining visiting all sorts of different places, then looking at places I've been already, etc. (Thanks a lot for a new addiction google maps). Also, just got a smartphone about 3 months ago, and I seriously divide my life into two parts: before smartphone and after smartphone, lol.

• animals
• cats
• dogs
• beauty
• bbq
• partying
• chess
• reading
• traveling
• eating out
• billiards
• socializing
• cartography

Music, Movies, and Books

I very rarely watch TV because schoolwork has been insane. With regards to movies, I don't really have a genre, and am pretty much all-over-the place but here are a few of my favorites: Forrest Gump, Forever Strong, Lean on Me, (anything with Hannibal Lecter), and all of the Star Trek Films. My favorite author is CS Lewis, but I tend to enjoy his non-fiction more than his, currently en vogue, fictional works. My favorite book is "The Great Divorce" written by him. I subscribe to a bunch of travel magazines and read "The Economist" weekly to stay up with current world events. Music, I tend to like 80's, Michael Jackson, Foreigner, REO Speedwagon, Journey, type stuff.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I have so much random information that I honestly have no idea what to put here, but since this site is mainly about travelling, I will list a few of my top trips, but you'll have to email me for stories or specifics, if you want to know more. Everyone always asks, "What's your favorite place?" It's an innocent enough question, but a bit broad, and always impossible to answer without qualifications. I tend to really enjoy English-Speaking nations (I kind of have a bit of an accent fetish, and the novelty of them thrills me!); that said, the British Isles and Ireland are places I like to visit over and over. With regards to something incomparably exotic, nothing has ever topped Egypt for me. My top experience with animals was trekking deep into the jungles of the D.R. Congo and being surrounded by the sheer splendor of a family of Mountain Gorillas. Finally, for beauty, I have never seen a place more lovely than a town called "Oia" on Greece's Santorini Island.

Teach, Learn, Share

I like the idea of CouchSurfing University since I have learned a great deal more from my travels (and fellow travellers, than I could ever have hoped to in college. I am a strong proponent of "lifelong learning" and am excited to be a part of this site, which seems to be a really helpful tool in continuing toward that never-ending goal.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Belgium, China, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Malawi, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, United Kingdom, Vatican City State, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States