CURRENT MISSION

Travel and conquer the world!

ABOUT ME

I come from a multicultural family who can speak several languages and I am very multicultural myself. I majored in anthropology and linguistics because I love learning other cultures and other languages.

I just moved to Michigan June 2011 to pursue a PhD in linguistic anthropology. My geographical interests are in the United States, China, and Cambodia. My topical interests are in language socialization, language acquisition, language ideology, language & education among underrepresented and disadvantaged groups in the United States, migration, transnationalism, diaspora, immigrants, refugees, sponsorship of refugees, Chinese diaspora, ethnic Chinese in Cambodia, cross-cultural beliefs regarding appearance, and more!

I like to read the news everyday and I know random trivia. I'm a pretty easy going person and am not picky!

PHILOSOPHY

Whatever happens, happens for a reason.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

trying to meet new people!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

visited 33 states (66%)Create your own visited map of The United States or Amsterdam travel guide for Android

visited 6 states (2.66%)Create your own visited map of The World or Triposo world travel guide for Android

Interests

sports, TV, movies, playing the flute, reading mystery books, watching mystery related dramas, watching/learning about real life mysteries, anthropology/culture, linguistics/languages, hiking, nature,

• culture
• books
• education
• clothing
• news
• trivia
• movies
• reading
• tv
• traveling
• hiking
• sports
• anthropology
• teaching
• languages
• tourism

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: Forrest Gump, 12 Angry Men, Vertigo, Psycho, Rear Window, Dial M for Murder, Pochontas, Mulan, all 3 Mighty Ducks movies, The Elephant Man, The Killing Fields, Mr. Holland's Opus, Zoolander, Bend it Like Beckham, Billy Elliot, City of God, This is Spinal Tap, City Lights, Modern Times, A Beautiful Mind, The Pianist, Amorres Perros, The Mighty, Journey from the Fall, Slumdog Millionaire, etc. and etc.

Music: almost everything, from pop to country to classical

Books: any mystery book (from Agatha Christie books to Encyclopedia Brown books), Falling Leaves

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Angkor Wat, Great Wall of China, and lots more.

Teach, Learn, Share

Through my travels and through my research as an anthropologist, I have come to understand that everything we do is "learned": the things we eat, how far away we stand from someone, the clothes we wear, the way we speak, etc. I learned that our values, beliefs, ideals, and customs are not universal and each person and culture is different. Sometimes simple cultural differences can cause misunderstanding and miscommunication. Wars have started because of this. If we all took a step back to put ourselves in other people's shoes, to be more empathetic and compassionate, world would be a better place.

What I Can Share with Hosts

My PhD research in linguistic anthropology and stories of my time living in Cambodia for 2 years doing PhD research.

Countries I’ve Visited

Cambodia, Canada, China, Japan, Laos, Mexico, South Korea, Thailand

Countries I’ve Lived In

Cambodia, China, United States

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