CURRENT MISSION

To improve US-China relations one person at a time

ABOUT ME

Born in Connecticut, I moved to Atlanta, GA (USA) as a baby so I guess you could call me a southern girl, but was raised by northern parents (I have to disappoint- no southern accent). Eager to get to know the culture where my parents grew up better, I went to Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY, where I learned I know nothing about anything and that's thrilling. After graduating this spring, I moved to Beijing for the fall to study Mandarin at Tsinghua University's IUP program on a US Fulbright Fellowship. In January, I am moving to Xi'an to start my research on the role of NGOs in Women's Political Empowerment. I will be living in Xi'an for 10 months, and then will most likely return to the US to get a Masters degree.

PHILOSOPHY

Life is determined 90% by your attitude, 10% by the actions that happen to you.

Pourquoi je suis sur Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I am moving from Beijing to Xi'an the first week of January and would like to try out couch surfing for the first time then while I look for an apartment in Xi'an. Once I get settled in, I'd love to pay back the favor and host future surfers in Xi'an.

Centres d'intérêt

I love yoga, listening to NPR (US National Public Radio), eating (favs include pancakes, dumplings, mac & cheese), hiking, extreme sports, going out, dancing, fashion, politics, women's rights/feminism...

• culture
• fashion
• dancing
• womens rights
• cooking
• cheese
• yoga
• partying
• politics
• guitar
• hiking
• surfing
• sports
• extreme sports

Morceaux de musique, films et livres

I love "electro pop" (think Passion Pit, Miike Snow, Daft Punk, Yelle), but also harbor a secret guilty pleasure for US top 40s.

Une aventure extraordinaire que j'ai vécue

I was totally amazed by the temples at Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Firstly, how did people hundreds of years ago build such massive and impressive structures? And how did these structures survive hundreds of years since? Lastly, it's mindblowing to think about the giant puzzle modern archeologists were presented with when trying to recreate these temples. Truly an amazing feat of humanity.

Enseignez, apprenez, partagez

I'd love to continue improving my language skills in both Chinese and French.

I also really want to learn more about Chinese cooking (or any cooking for that matter).

I've always wanted to learn guitar.

My Skills: organization, party planning, bra fitting, yoga (only been practicing 4 years, but love to share any knowledge I have!)...

Pays que j'ai visités

Belgium, Cambodia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Laos, Mexico, Morocco, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand

Pays dans lesquels j'ai vécu

China, United States