Hello!

I'm a native Iowan who has spent a lot of time travelling and living abroad. I am currently situated in Des Moines, Iowa, where I live with my partner. We are in a quiet neighborhood that is close to both the airport and downtown. We purchased our house right before the market went crazy, but it is a real fixer-upper (i.e. a mess).

I am a new graduate working as a Physician Assistant for an eye clinic. I love having projects to chip away at, art, plants/nature, and spending time with our pup. Atticus is our oversized (135lbs) mastiff-lab. He is a lover and will spend the day sitting on your lap if you let him. During our free time we enjoy following deer trails around local parks.

My partner is very quiet and reserved. He reads anything that he can get his hands on and is a huge movie buff. He is not as comfortable with couchsurfing as I am (I'll happily take anyone), and prefers that we only host folks who have been vetted. He works in the world of juvenile justice and child protection; he sees a darker side of people that many of us are lucky to avoid. Please send me a request anyways! Couchsurfing is an awesome community and he has enjoyed everyone we've hosted so far -- even the unvetted folks ;)

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I'm here to turn strangers into friends!

Interests

- Plants: indoor, outdoor, native, grafted, rare/unusual, etc. You name it, I'm probably into it. I am currently working on a 750 gal paludarium and have way more plants than any human should. Major life goal is to have a greenhouse with a biiig mango tree.

- Art: creating, appreciating. DSM has a good art museum that you should check out!

- Animals: doooooogs. Very into dog training

- Reading

• animals
• dogs
• cooking
• yoga
• reading
• drawing
• hiking
• scuba diving
• swimming
• biology
• languages

Music, Movies, and Books

I enjoy many types of books, but right now my favorite two genres are sci-fi and pop-sci

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

- PADI dive master
- Published scientist

Teach, Learn, Share

I LOVE TEACHING

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can bake a mighty fine chocolate cake, I'm great with animals (especially dogs), and if English is your second language I can help with that as well!

Slightly handy, very artistic

Countries I’ve Visited

Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Curaçao, Dominican Republic, England, France, French Polynesia, Germany, Indonesia, Mexico, Norway, Panama, Puerto Rico, Russian Federation, South Africa, Swaziland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Turks and Caicos Islands

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, Panama, Russian Federation