CURRENT MISSION

to swim in every (natural) body of water that exists

ABOUT ME

Originally from a small fishing town in New York, I am working in Phuket and conducting research on coral reef restoration while procrastinating writing my Master's thesis. I am busy during the week with work, so can really only host on the weekends. My place is not within walking distance to anything so you must have your own transport, as public transport in Phuket is notoriously unreliable-- but might be able to tour you around on the weekends, though I only have a motorbike so single travelers or couples with their own bikes are better!

Before Phuket, I was on traveling for about 8 months around South and Southeast Asia with two different travel buddies. Before that I was teaching in a town north of Chiang Rai on a Fulbright Grant for a year. I absolutely love Thailand (if you couldn't already tell) and I have done extensive traveling throughout the country and surrounding countries, so let me know if you have any travel questions!

PHILOSOPHY

Never take life too seriously

Life isn't really that bad

Always leave time for adventure

If it's a terrible experience, it'll be a funny story soon enough.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I want to meet anyone who wants to meet me . I want to travel and learn whatever anyone wants to teach, and never stop exploring. I have a couch in an apartment that I'm willing to share with the right person(s).

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

While traveling, my buddy and I were shown around Vietnam by some awesome expats and locals alike. Also, during our time in India, we were shown what Indian hospitality is by some incredible folks there who hosted us during Holi- a memorable experience indeed. Met some ridiculously fun folks in Iceland who showed me the best kept secrets in the area. My hosting experiences have been awesome so far, the best cure for not being able to travel is to host travelers and bring the world to my apartment! I can't wait to meet more likeminded travelers through Couchsurfing. Because I live in Phuket, I get tons of requests from people who haven't even bothered to read my profile, so please write the word "pineapple" anywhere in your request so I know you've at least taken the time to learn a bit about me :-)

Interests

Hiking, rugby, reading, photography, horses, traveling (duh), street food, SCUBA diving, swimming, surfing, kayaking, sailing (the ocean in general) mountains, ecology, recycling, learning, talking, a cold beer, SE Asia, the list goes on.

• horses
• culture
• photography
• dining
• cooking
• beer
• reading
• traveling
• restoration
• equestrian
• hiking
• kayaking
• surfing
• scuba diving
• sailing
• rugby
• swimming
• ecology
• science
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

Books: Ecological Intelligence, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, A Long Walk to Freedom, The World Without Us, Gone Girl, Little Bee, Into the Wild, Into Thin Air, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, Wild, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Mountains Beyond Mountains, The Life You Can Save, a lot of non-fiction but I try to appreciate fiction every now and then.

Music: Open to anything really, except metal. A few of my favorites right now: Sia, Of Monsters and Men, Florence and the Machine, Zac Brown Band, Kenny Chesney, Emeli Sande, HAIM, Ellie Goulding, Hozier...

Movies: More of a documentary type person, I suppose. Documentaries about nature, the environment, etc.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Just one? Lived abroad.

More than one: The sunrise over the ocean from horseback, a sky filled with lanterns at Loy Krathong, the sound of elephants on a safari, humpback whales breaching off of New England, the goodness of locals who invite a stranger with no common language to sit down and have a beer and the resulting laughter and smiles.

Teach, Learn, Share

Teach: I can teach you about marine and environmental science, horses, surfing, photography, Thai culture (and a bit of language)

Learn: I want to learn anything from anyone. Just teach me something different, or tell me a story. If you can teach me to cook (anything) that's always a fun skill to share too.

Share: Let's share something. I don't know what it's going to be yet, but let's meet up and figure it out. I'm sure we have something in common.

Countries I’ve Visited

Bahamas, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Italy, Jamaica, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Scotland, United States, Viet Nam, Virgin Islands, British, Virgin Islands, U.S.

Countries I’ve Lived In

South Africa, Thailand, United States