CURRENT MISSION

Bring a smile and playful spirit to every life situation!

ABOUT ME

I currently live and teach full-time at a private school in Chiang Mai, Thailand. It's incredible!

I've grown up traveling a lot. My father lives in the Dominican Republic and my mother lives in Alaska. I spent my childhood divided between both places, absorbing the wealth of cultural diversity that life presented me.

I was an AFS exchange student for a year in Varese, Italy, where I enjoyed learning Italian and getting to know the people of Italy and the rhythm of Italian life. I have been able to revisit my host family a couple of times since then, which has been wonderful.

I graduated from the University of Alaska in Fairbanks with a degree in Anthropology and Foreign Languages.

I spent a year living, teaching English, and enjoying learning about life in Indonesia. It is an amazing country I would recommend to any and everyone!

I love making friends around the world and learning about other cultures.

PHILOSOPHY

My first grade art teacher once told me that there are no mistakes in art and I believe that that lesson spills over into life: There are no mistakes in life, everything is incorporated into our project of self hood. (Granted, some "spills" need quite a lot of touch up work to blend into our vision of who we would like to be:-)Basically, make the most of every moment and think about how the decisions you make will affect others and your future self before you make them. My personal challenge is to approach all interactions with compassion and bring joy with me everywhere!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I was able to spontaneously host a stray Norwegian girl and have had great experiences CSing in SE Asia and Italy. It's such a wonderful way to meet interesting people who enrich your experiences of a place.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I had my first couch surfing experience in the Indonesian town where I lived for a year, Surabaya, and had a great time. I wanted to see the city I had been living in for 10 months from a different perspective and it truly did expand my horizons!

Hosting experience:
I was able to host a Norwegian in need and really enjoyed being able to help someone out. Kirsti, you were a great guest! Such an interesting life!
I've also helped people find their way around my town in Fairbanks, Alaska. I like to help out fellow CSers when I can!

My surf experience:
1) Anes: Surabaya, Indonesia
2) Juana: Singapore
3) Elma: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
4) Lys: Chiang Mai, Thailand
5) Kaitlynm: Chiang Mai, Thailand
6) Camilla: Turin, Italy
7) Ang: Penang, Malaysia

Interests

Discovering artists doing something unique, culture, being in places long enough that the guy selling food on the street knows me by name, animals (yes, even when they pee on me), dancing, scuba diving, going for long walks with no end location in mind, being outdoors, meeting new people, having quality conversations with interesting people, and simply enjoying life...maybe with a glass of nice red wine.

• animals
• arts
• culture
• literature
• dancing
• dining
• cooking
• wine
• red wine
• running
• traveling
• socializing
• outdoor activities
• surfing
• scuba diving
• anthropology
• teaching
• languages
• wwoof

Music, Movies, and Books

Current fave book:
Italo Calvino's The Non-Existent Knight

Classic book for wandering souls:
Hermann Hesse "Wandering: Notes and Sketches"

Music: Tanya Donelly, Portishead, Rilo Kiley, Shivaree, Latin American music, classic rock (think Zeppelin, Janis Joplin), Neko Case, Death Cab for Cutie...Live music in chilled out bars

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I think most things in life are amazing, but I understand that that is a sort of non-answer. So I'm going to go with WWOOFing for 6 weeks in Italy during the grape harvest! Just imagine, you're outside taking in a glorious vista while picking heaps of grapes (of course some must make their way into your mouth;-), then trucking them to a small wine processing plant run by the sweetest Italian family. And finally, sampling wine with delicious food and great company is a just reward for a hard day's labor! If you like meeting people, being outside, and being more than just another lazy tourist try WWOOFing! http://www.wwoof.org/

Teach, Learn, Share

I enjoy sharing cultural experiences and knowledge, opinions about the arts and literature, cooking expertise, and jokes. I love to laugh:-)

Countries I’ve Visited

Chile, France, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Malaysia, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand

Countries I’ve Lived In

Dominican Republic, Indonesia, Italy, Thailand, United States

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