I'm a dancer and an adventuress with a bad case of the travel bug.

I've been in Ireland for nearly two years now and I'm itching to get on the road again. The current goal? As much of Europe as possible before I have to surrender to adulthood and return to Canada and a 'real job'.

I am currently studying five languages concurrently to make up for my monolingual Canadian upbringing and would love to have more opportunities to practice them all in their local environment!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I just want to meet new people, see new places, learn new languages, and dance as much as I can.

Interests

Dancing: salsa, swing, ballroom, the works -- Traveling: anywhere I haven't been yet -- Books: I trained as a librarian, of course I love books! -- Live Music: latin, classical, alt, rock, you name it -- Linguistics: how languages work, how we use them, how they affect us, and even what might be the effect of using emoticons or only talking to people via text, linguistics is my preferred area of research -- Cooking: I love making wholesome bread, elaborate cakes, and dishes from all over the world (especially China)

• culture
• books
• make up
• dancing
• swing dancing
• environment
• dining
• cooking
• chinese food
• baking
• traveling
• music
• live music
• languages

Music, Movies, and Books

Books: Classics, Fantasy, Russian & Japanese Literature (in English), and just about anything that catches my interest -- Movies: I'll enjoy a film, but I'm far less committed -- Music: Latin, Jazz, Alt, Indie, Rock, Classical, basically anything that isn't too terribly jarring or cheesy

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I moved to China for a year to study Chinese. One of the hardest but most rewarding years of my life. I would return to Shanghai in a heartbeat if the opportunity presented itself.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach salsa and west coast swing dancing to an intermediate level and ballroom to a beginner level. I've also done a lot of work with students of English as a Second Language and would be happy to help out if you're studying English. Finally, I'm a fair enough cook and would be happy to share my skills (or just the results) whether it be baking bread or whipping up homestyle Chinese food.

I'd love to learn more languages and more about local food and music cultures.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can share my cooking, my stories, my dance, and my interest--I'd love to hear your stories and learn about your culture and traditions!

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Grenada, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Mexico, Montenegro, Norway, Poland, Puerto Rico, Romania, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, China, Ireland