Hey y'all,

My name is Catherine. Everyone calls me Cat. I am originally from Montreal, Quebec. I am passionate about meeting new people and experiencing different cultures, music scenes, and foodways :) I hope to be an active member of the couchsurfing community, whose mission I deeply support, as much as possible throughout my life!

A bit about me. I grew up in Montreal where I went to school and university and where I worked and participated for 2 years in the city's rich culture and rave scenes as an event organizer and active contributor. I was raised by activist parents in a bilingual French-English household and am a Canadian and American dual citizen.

I moved to the U.S in the fall of 2015 a couple years after my whole family left Canada. I first lived with my sister in New York City, then with my parents in Washington D.C, and finally, with my brother, who was training to become a surgeon at the time, in St. Louis Missouri. During my time in STL, I served in 2 restaurants and trained intensively to be an English teacher by getting my English as a Second Language (ESL) teaching certificate.

The ultimate goal, however, was to move to Detroit, Michigan in the summer of 2016, due to my passion for the city’s afrocentric music culture and powerful culture of grassroots activism. Detroit is the birthplace of Motown, techno, and too many badass artists and community organizers to count. It has come to become my second home over my 8 years of living within and around the city. During my 5 years in the city, I worked as a grassroots community worker at a DIY recycling drop-off center, a server at different restaurants in the city, an ESL teacher, and eventually a nonprofit worker for a local environmental justice nonprofit. During that time, I also interviewed artists and community builders from the city and wrote their life story portraits. I networked in the city's rich and diverse underground cultural scene and environmental advocacy community, organized a major free party in a community park, and made life-long friendships.

After an 8-month road trip across the U.S., during which I first became an active member of the Couchsurfing community (more below), and 2 more years of juggling between multiple jobs in Detroit, I decided it was time for me to pursue my graduate studies. With my exposure to the many environmental injustices that Detroiters are confronted with in their daily lives, whether it’d be lack or unevening access to public transit infrastructure, healthy food options, running water, safe housing, I knew that I wanted to work in the environmental field as it relates to social justice work.

Between September of 2021 and April of 2024, I pursued my Dual Master’s Degree program in Environmental Justice and Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. I took amazing classes, met amazing faculty and students, and deepened my professional and personal networks. I traveled to Europe in the summer of 2023 for 2.5 months, one of which was spent in Barcelona improving my Spanish, a language which will deeply serve my career. After several years of intense work and training, I am driven to contribute to these powerful fields of work.

But before doing so, I knew I needed to take a break. Traveling to different parts of Europe until the end of October is part of that break. Then, it’s back to Michigan, my community, and my network as I figure out the next steps on my journey, which will involve giving back to the CS community by hosting travelers and making new friendships!

That's me and my goals in a nutshell I guess ... :)

Cheers!!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

In 2018, two years after moving to Detroit, I decided it was time to make one of my teenage dreams a reality - road tripping across the U.S. I first discovered Couchsurfing because I have heard from friends that it's the best way to travel cheaply and meet amazing people. Given that I had so many American destinations in mind and a limited budget to work with, I definitely benefited both experientially and financially from couchsurfing across the country over doing hostels or hotels.

My first roadtrip stop in January of 2018 was D.C to visit my parents and plan an itinerary. After that, I went to NYC to see my sister and Pittsburg to see friends. Starting in mid-February and throughout the month of March, I visited the South (Richmond, Raleigh, Charleston, Savannah, Atlanta, Miami, Nashville, New Orleans) and Texas (Austin and San Antonio). I then traveled through New Mexico (Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Taos) and Colorado (Southern Colorado, Loveland, Fort Collins, Boulder, Denver) for a month. In May, I returned to Detroit to refuel before hitting the road to travel the West Coast of the U.S. (California, Oregon, Washington) with my former partner, Dai, between June and September of 2018.

During my 8-month journey, I reached 13 Couchsurfing experiences as a surfer. I must say I had nothing but good experiences! Everyone in the community is so giving and unique :) To the numerous amazing hosts that welcomed me into their homes across 11 states, I want to say thank you. My road trip simply would not have been possible without you.

Upon my return to Michigan in September of 2018, I was intent on giving back to the CS community, which due to juggling between multiple jobs, moving from apartment to apartment, the pandemic, and 3 years in graduate school, proved to be a challenge for me.

6 years later, it is wonderful to re-activate my involvement in the couchsurfing community, which made such a huge difference to me. I look forward to making new connections while on the road and am committed upon my return to Michigan in the fall of 2024, TO GIVE BACK TO THE COUCHSURFING COMMUNITY BY BECOMING AN ACTIVE HOST!

Interests

I am a music head. There is not a moment in the day when I am not plugged into music (see below for specifics). I am definitely a rave and vinyl culture advocate. I love all dance genres that surround these underground cultures, that is, house step, breaking, jit, voguing, latin, etc.

Through my upbringing, personal and professional experiences working in Detroit, as well as my academic training in the fields of environmental justice and urban planning, I have come to be a strong social justice advocate in regards to issues surrounding the environment, climate change, Indigenous Rights, racial, gender and class inequalities.

I strive to live as waste free as I can by reusing, reducing, recycling, and composting.

I love museums and visual arts, especially contemporary art, as well as, cinema, and theatre. I also love reading, especially documentary literature and political essays. I would like to become more involved with reading science fiction. Dune and Octavia Butler are next up on my list!

I like to keep fit by commuting on my bike, running, dancing, and playing soccer if I have a ball and a field nearby. I am ramping up to make pilates and body weight training into a routine.

I'm sure I could blabber on, but I think that gives y'all an idea :)

• literature
• contemporary art
• music festivals
• environment
• raves
• reading
• traveling
• live music
• electronic music
• jazz
• hip-hop music
• swimming
• food
• cinema
• sustainability
• dance
• social justice
• house music
• theatre
• funk
• techno
• indie music
• recycling
• learning new languages
• indigenous rights
• restaurants
• environmental justice
• street dance
• art museums
• independent cinema
• soul music
• vinyl records
• climate justice
• black music
• food and drinks
• composting
• playing soccer
• visiting museums

Music, Movies, and Books

I am really into old school techno and house music, but also electronica, hip hop, soul, funk, jazz, modern and traditional African and Latin musics, trip hop, synth pop, punk, rock, grunge, and the list goes on. Going to music shows is a big part of my life.

Movies and TV shows that I am really into: Reservation Dogs, Fight Club, Dune Part 1 and 2, I Am Not Your Negro, Hidden Figures, The Post, A Single Man, Universal Techno, High Tech Soul, etc.

Books: From a Native Daughter: Colonialism and Sovereignty in Hawaii (Dr. Haunani-Kay Trask), Elite Capture: How the Powerful Took Over Identity Politics (And Everything Else) (Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò), The Stranger, The Myth of Sisyphus (Albert Camus), La Femme indépendante (Simone de Beauvoir), Chien Blanc (Roman Gary), Le Petit Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry), Detroit City is the Place to Be (Mark Binelli), Rant and Stranger than Fiction (Chuck Palahniuk), 1984 (George Orwell), etc.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

As part of my master’s project in urban and regional planning, I built an Oral History project from scratch with 18 Quilombola (or maroon) leaders in the Northeast region of Brazil in the municipality of Alcântara. The result of this project is a series of video clips, which are housed in a digital StoryMap, which these communities will leverage for their advocacy efforts to fight displacement from their ancestral lands, which they have been rightfully settled on for hundreds of years. You can learn more about their struggle as Quilombola peoples here - https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/science-shouldn-rsquo-t-come-at-the-expense-of-black-lives/

Teach, Learn, Share

Conversations, good vibes, laughter, love. Music and cultural knowledge. Long walks and/or bike rides.

A few quotes from a few authors that I love and respect:

"The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion." - Albert Camus

"My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style." - Maya Angelou

“I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.” // "Radical simply means "grasping things at the root.” - Angela Davis

What I Can Share with Hosts

My knowledge of the Detroit music scene, sustainability practices like compost and recycling, environmental and climate justice work, how to speak French, the basics of house stepping as a street dance style.

I am a very clean, considerate and respectful person. I am also very dynamic and love to visit and discover new places and meet people.

I am very respectful of differences, curious and I strive to honor people's socio-cultural backgrounds without judgment.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Belize, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, Costa Rica, England, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, United States, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, Canada, Spain, United States