ABOUT ME

I love travel, learning new skills, seeing new corners of the world and learning the ways of the humans and non-humans who live there.

I work a lot of seasonal jobs. Recently, I was working as a dog musher near Fairbanks, Alaska. I've also been a chef, gardener, sailor, outdoor guide, event planner, and PhD student, as well as multiple of those things at the same time and other things besides. I love living close to the ground. I'm passionate about food, the environment, being outside, and meeting creative people trying in their own ways to live authentic lives.

This year, I'm re-commiting to a lifestyle of travel and exploration. I'm currently living out of my beloved Subaru and getting to know the Pacific Northwest a bit. I plan to head to the Southwest with a friend for a few weeks and then I hope to find a summer job somewhere up here in Washington or Oregon. I'm hoping to start massage school in the fall.

Sometimes I wonder if I'm too old for continuous seasonal work and travel--if it's too hard, too uncertain, etc. But then I realize it's what I love to do and even though it's not everyone's jam, I'm pretty sure it's mine.

But I also think it's important to cultivate community and inspiring, supportive relationships, even as a traveler. That's why I'm excited to start using Couch Surfing regularly again. I hope to find some new friends in Washington while I'm here!

I'm currently updating this profile from my phone, so it's a bit difficult to write a lot. I'm leaving the older content up even though it's out of date until I can get to my laptop and sort it out. So if you drop in here you'll get to see a bit of a Wynne time capsule.

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I am (sort of) a PhD student in Science and Technology Studies, which looks at the relationships between science/technology and society--how does sci/tech affect society, and vice versa. I am interested in thinking about the implications of science and technology for social justice issues such as racism, sexism, poverty, etc. I was recently in Laos attempting to do research on the politics of large-scale dam construction, but that project fell through and I'm currently putzing around at home on the farm in Virginia, squinting dimly at my future, and trying to figure out what to get into next.

It's not a bad place to be, though. My family owns 150 acres, with a few under cultivation raising organic vegetables, as well as free-range pigs and chickens. We also host music festivals and other events. During the summer, it sort of feels like living on a commune, with people coming and going constantly, tons of great food, music, and fun, and creative, enthusiastic people everywhere.

Come by and we'll feed you veggies!

In a past, slightly more adventurous life, my then-boyfriend and I attempted to sail around the world by volunteering on private sailing yachts. We managed to cross the Pacific and Indian oceans, finding most of our volunteer positions through online crew finding sites. During that trip, which lasted about 20 months, we also had a chance to volunteer for four months in northern Laos. This experience sparked my interest in development issues, which I spent a lot of time focusing on during graduate school.

We documented some of our experiences from our trip on a blog: www.crossingtheline2011.blogspot.com. We also wrote an article on volunteer crewing that appeared in SAIL Magazine in April 2014: http://www.sailmagazine.com/destinations/hitchsailing-around-world

I also spent a few years working as professional crew aboard tall ships, which is something between being an elementary school teacher and a circus performer while scampering around on big, wooden sailboats.

So if you're interested in making music, hanging out on a farm in the mountains, or talking about sailing, farming, social issues, travel, or how soul-crushing grad school can be, come hang with me and my rowdy family!

TRAVEL PHILOSOPHY

Traveling should take a bit of courage. Ideally, I strive to stray from the beaten path. This doesn't necessarily mean wandering far from the other foreigners, spatially speaking, but attempting to connect in authentic, and often difficult, ways with the people and non-people around me. I can't say I always live up to this ideal, nor is that always feels necessary, but I definitely think my best traveling moments are the ones that were unexpected or a bit intimidating at first. Spending four months in a Lao village with no roads and no English speakers; being semi-stranded on remote island in the South Pacific, trying to hitch a sailboat ride; even just making a habit of refusing the comfort of proper restaurants in favor of dubious-looking street vendors, and all the unexpected interactions (and flavors) that leads to. These things help a traveler get through the wall of distance and comfort that, ironically, seems to be what travelers actually PAY MORE to put up between themselves and the place they're visiting.

I think that traveling should NOT be about recreating life back home, but for less money and with palm trees in the background--speaking your native language, drinking your usual beer and your usual coffee, and eating toast and eggs for breakfast. If that's what you want to do while you travel, isn't it cheaper to stay home?

Dive in, get close, make friends, be weirded out sometimes, be uncomfortable sometimes--learn to really care about people and non-people who aren't like you. That's what travel should be about.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

At my couchsurfing prime, I hosted several people in my college house in Annapolis. Before that, I stayed with a few generous folks as I traveled through France and Spain. I have been of off couchsurfing for a while, but I'm looking to get back into it. I no longer have a home to host out of but I'm excited about getting to meet new people as I travel.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

So far, I've hosted a couple people in Annapolis, and I've stayed with two wonderful hosts in France. The experiences of hosting Americans in America and of being hosted abroad are very different, but both were fun.

Interests

I like learning, camping, hiking, and generally being outside, sailboats, mountains, plants, animals, growing and eating delicious foods, meditation, traveling, making music, making art, and (hopefully) making a better world by doing some of these things consciously with others.

• animals
• dogs
• chickens
• arts
• photography
• music festivals
• festivals
• dining
• cooking
• breakfast
• wine
• beer
• coffee
• meditation
• walking
• drinking
• gardening
• boating
• politics
• technology
• traveling
• blogging
• music
• hiking
• camping
• sailing
• teaching
• science
• volunteering
• mountains
• fermentation

Music, Movies, and Books

I always hate this question. I like tons of stuff, and what I choose to talk about or emphasize really depends upon who I'm talking to and the context. So if you want to know come hang out.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Working as a dog musher the past two winters. The harshness of deep winter is beautiful, and dogs are incredible - honest, open, loving, and fully present in everything they do. Dogs can't lie. Well, sometimes they try to be sneaky, but they're really bad at it. They inspire me to be a more honest, present, loving person.

Teach, Learn, Share

What can I teach? Music, cooking, fermenting things, extremely basic meditation techniques, sailing, various amateur crafty things like making janky screenprints and cutting wine bottles without breaking them.

What do I want to learn? Everything!

What I Can Share with Hosts

I feel more comfortable approaching my hosts in the position of someone who wants to learn, rather than teach. That's what I think travelling is all about! I hope my hosts will enjoy my desire to learn from them, my open-mindedness and curiosity. Of course, I'm willing to help my hosts in whatever ways I can--from doing the dishes, to walking the dog, to harvesting crops, sanding the hull of their sailboat, whatever helps them out.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Cambodia, Canada, France, French Polynesia, Germany, Indonesia, Laos, Lesotho, Malaysia, New Caledonia, Panama, South Africa, Spain, Swaziland, Thailand, Uruguay, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States

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