CURRENT MISSION

Travel, discover, learn, share, grow, love, and be happy.

ABOUT ME

I am a part of the Couchsurfing community for the experience of getting to know people from all over the world, to share life stories, build friendships, have crazy fun experiences together, and to get a glimpse into different perspectives.

I'm a smiling, excitable Californian who quit her corporate job in New York City after three amazing years to travel the world and make it a better place, one city at a time! Where my life will take me after that is a mystery that I welcome with open arms!

I love to travel and spend most of my time planning upcoming trips. I'm addicted to laughing and smiling, happiness in general, sweets (but not junk food), baking, milk, dancing and singing with delirious abandon, meeting new people, learning new languages, giving and receiving hugs, holding hands, banana pudding and ice cream. It must also be said that I love to eat. I mean, REALLY love to eat. And I love when others can match me in the eating department, both in variety of food consumed and quantity. =)

And I guess you will find out the rest once we meet! =)

PHILOSOPHY

Say yes to as many opportunities and chances as possible. Your life will be richly rewarded in turn.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Please see below.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

My Couchsurfing experiences started in Europe during the summer of 2005. I surfed with a handful of amazing hosts throughout Europe who truly taught me the meaning of openness, hospitality and generosity. Since my return, I have hosted many a traveler in my New York home trying to return the hospitality that I received and I love every minute of it! Now that I'm a sort of full-time traveler, I'm back to surfing. Maybe your couch is next? =)
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Surfed - Peter, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Surfed - Michel, Aix-en-Provence, France
Surfed - Luis, Lisbon, Portugal
Surfed - Joana, Sintra, Portugal
Surfed - Tom, Brugges, Belgium
Surfed - Michael, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Surfed - Uwe, Dresden, Germany
Surfed - Johannes, Berlin, Germany
Hosted - Gary and Ray, Florida, USA
Hosted - Faye, Montreal, Canada
Hosted - Jen, Vancouver, Canada
Hosted - Alex, Dresden, Germany
Hosted - Marzia and Edmundo, Italy and Spain
Hosted - Olivier, Geneva, Switzerland
Hosted - Mel, Montreal, Canada
Hosted - Miroslav, Serbia
Hosted - Pai, Brussels, Belgium
Hosted - Matt, London, UK
Hosted - BatSheva, Israel
Hosted - Nicole and Jens, Denmark
Hosted - BatSheva, Israel
Hosted - Sebastian, Niger
Hosted - Joel, Australia
Surfed - Robin, Miami, USA
Surfed - Christian, San Jose, Costa Rica
Surfed - Hamish, Cuidad Colon, Costa Rica
Hosted - Claudia, Vienna, Austria
Hosted - Gijs, Belgium
Hosted - Fabi, Brazil
Hosted - Anton, Germany
Hosted - Ivana and Mischa, Slovenia and Germany
Surfed - Setta, Reykjavik, Iceland
Surfed - Bjarni (Marco) and Hlynur (Polo), Davik, Iceland
Hosted - Areano, Honduras
Hosted - Michelle, Melbourne, Australia
Hosted - Arno, French-Swiss border
Hosted - Francesco, Rome, Italy
Hosted - Eli, Santiago, Chile
Hosted - Ophelie, Nantes, France
Hosted - Teresa, Frankfurt, Germany
Hosted - Sole, Bueno Aires, Argentina
Hosted - Roberto, Milan, Italy
Hosted - Judith, Heidelberg, Germany
Surfed - Sam and Toni, Washington DC
Hosted - Taylor, Vancouver Island, Canada
Hosted - Shine and Lua, true nomads
Surfed - Manuel, Lima, Peru
Hosted - Freya, Glasgow, Scotland
Surfed - Denis, Montreal, Canada
Surfed - Yves, Quebec City, Canada
Hosted - Ryan, Brisbane, Australia
Hosted - Jeff, Vaio, Georgia
Hosted - Raphael, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
Hosted - Denis, Montreal, Canada
Hosted - Sergi and Gemma, Barcelona, Spain
Hosted - Ryan, Copenhagen, Denmark
Hosted - Mark, South London, England
Surfed - Serap, Istanbul, Turkey
Surfed - Allan, Copenhagen, Denmark
Surfed - Olov, Stockholm, Sweden
Surfed - Sedef, Istanbul, Turkey
Surfed - Simon, Amman, Jordan
Surfed - Ghassab, Petra, Jordan
Surfed - Nader, Dahab, Egypt
Surfed - Eloise, Bath, England
Surfed - Kayleigh, Cardiff, Wales
Surfed - Toto, Mumbai, India
Surfed - Pravin, Nasik, India
Surfed - Hayko, Bangkok, Thailand
Surfed - Bruce and Dara, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Hosted - Judith and Paul, Hong Kong
Surfed - Celeste and Max, Taichung, Taiwan
Surfed - Hans, Tainan, Taiwan
Surfed - Gino, Manila, Philippines
Surfed - Manish, Singapore

Interests

Traveling, eating good food and desserts, trying to help save the world from itself, music, reading, learning new languages, movies, cooking and baking, history, surfing, scuba diving... It's always a growing list!

• singing
• dancing
• dining
• cooking
• desserts
• baking
• pub crawls
• gardening
• movies
• reading
• traveling
• billiards
• music
• camping
• surfing
• scuba diving
• history
• languages
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

I am open to all sorts of movies, music and books (though I do have a special place in my heart for things less mainstream) as I am almost always reading a book or listening to music or watching a movie when I'm home. When I'm traveling, I try to absorb as much of the country, people and culture as possible so I leave my ipod at home and embrace all that I possibly can in my new temporary home.

I'm all about music exchange so if you meet me, I would love to hear some of the music that you enjoy and I would be more than happy to make you a copy of some music that I like to groove to, which, if you must know, consists of the likes of Pink Martini, Feist, Neko Case, the Decemberists, Sigur Ros, Ben Folds, Camera Obscura, 80's pop, Blonde Redhead, Brazilian Girls, Eisley, Bjork, Death Cab for Cutie, Supreme Beings of Leisure, Thievery Corporation, Rilo Kiley, world music, etc...

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

1. Traveled across Europe, starting in Turkey and going west towards Portugal and then back across to Turkey again within 6 months time
2. Visited family in Burma and learned more about the country I'm from
3. Watched a leatherback sea turtle lay her eggs and then return to the sea in Grenada
4. Participated in a unitard pub crawl in Manhattan's Lower East Side with a bunch of crazies =)
5. Trekked through the snow in the dark to soak in a natural geothermal pool situated between intercontinental plates in Iceland, guided only by 2 awesome Icelanders, moonlight and sheer willpower to overcome the frostbite in my toes
6. Quit my cushy office job in NYC to teach English in Istanbul
7. Slept in a Bedouin cave in the middle of the Petra mountains
8. Volunteered at Elephant Nature Camp
9. Diving with thresher sharks in Malapascua, Philippines

Teach, Learn, Share

According to the Thursday, September 20, 2007 edition of the New York Times, I can teach people how to bellydance. =)

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/20/garden/20couch.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5124&en=a1794b49ad006354&ex=1348027200&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Italy, Jordan, Laos, Mexico, Myanmar, Nepal, Netherlands, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Myanmar, Thailand, Turkey, United States

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