Hi! I’m Victoria. I’m originally from suburban New Jersey, but I’ve called many places home since high school. I lived in Central Asia for a couple months right after graduation and since that first great adventure, I’ve been passionate about experiencing and learning about other cultures. I studied anthropology and French in Upstate NY in a teeny tiny liberal arts school, an experience punctuated by sojourns in Taiwan and France. I just finished Peace Corps in Burkina Faso, West Africa and am currently in Brooklyn.

I’m fun-loving and adventurous, always willing to dive into new experiences. I fully believe that life is too short to do otherwise.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I hate short-term travel that only focuses on the main attractions of a place for the Facebook photo, which is sadly what most of travel has turned into. I believe that Couchsurfing gives us the unique opportunity to change that. We live with locals and experience the true essence of a place that is impossible to access as directly as a tourist, and in addition, create international ties. I’ve Couchsurfed before in Switzerland, France, and Portugal and have had extraordinary experiences each time. I think Couchsurfers are such an amazing community of people that are always exceptionally kind and open-minded to people and experiences. I’ve never hosted because I’ve never had a space big enough to, unfortunately, but am looking forward to the day when I am able to show other Couchsurfers the same hospitality I have been shown

Interests

My main passions in life are photography and cooking. I love portrait photography especially and trying to capture a person’s being.

• arts
• culture
• photography
• perfumes
• dining
• cooking
• traveling
• muslim
• anthropology
• mountains

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

In 2011, I studied the Persian language in Dushanbe, Tajikistan for a couple months after my high school graduation. It’s an experience that, to this day, I still count among my favorite collection of memories: immersive intensive language learning, falling asleep at night to the low drone of Ramadan prayers in my courtyard, long dinners with my host family speaking in Persian, wandering around crowded bazaars during my lunch breaks, visiting rural villages high up in the Pamir mountains, learning about Islam and Tajik culture in the most intimate, first hand way possible. Truly the Couchsurfing spirit embodied.

What I Can Share with Hosts

stories, delicious food, and high energy fun!

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Bahamas, Belgium, Belize, Bermuda, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Canada, China, Czech Republic, England, France, Germany, Ghana, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Monaco, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sao Tome and Principe, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Burkina Faso, France, Taiwan, Tajikistan, United States