***Update Oct. 2023: I haven't used CouchSurfing since ~2014 and haven't fully updated my profile. I live and work in Chicago, USA. Don't travel as much as I used to but am spontaneously booking vacations and hoping to connect with some CouchSurfers to share the experiences with!***

CURRENT MISSION

seeing the world now

ABOUT ME

Check out my travel blog: http://mbwanders.wordpress.com/
A rolling stone gathers no moss... I was born to wander- I've always got the itch to keep moving. I love learning about different cultures and meeting new people. What keeps me going is always trying new things. I've been living in Asia for five years and after wrapping up a teaching contract am traveling for four months as a birthday present to myself^^

PHILOSOPHY

You only live once. More importantly, you're only young once. I'd rather regret the things I did than the things I didn't do.

(Hence the 4-month long birthday party I'm currently having to celebrate the twilight of my twenties)

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

When I heard about it I thought it was the coolest form of social networking ever- The perfect way for travelers to connect and help one another! I love getting the locals' take on places- they can take you off the beaten path.
I've met tons of cool people through CS and it's made several of my trips a lot more exciting. I'd like to pay it forward and help anyone out in Busan!

UPDATE: It's not so relevant at the moment as I am traveling but when I settle in somewhere I'd love to open my home to anyone suffering from a natural disaster or volunteers who are traveling for work. This is the CS spirit that I value and feel like we can use this website for amazing things.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I've surfed and hosted but I really like meeting up with people, especially when traveling alone as I tend to do.

Also I enjoy spending time with travelers whenever they're nearby in my town. If you have something you want to do, like go hiking or to a museum, send me a message and if I'm free I'd love to join!

Language exchange- I've met lots of cool people through couch surfing who I talk with on Skype for language practice. Or if you just want to hang out and have some drinks while practicing that's cool too!

I think I only have about 10% of the CSers I've ever met on my profile, because really the connections we made didn't need to be qualified with a website verification ;P Some of the coolest people I've met and the best friends I've made were through CS.

As for any specific experiences or funny stories, I'll just have to tell you when we meet^^

visited 23 states (10.2%)Create your own visited map of The World or Brazil travel guide for Android

visited 28 states (56%)Create your own visited map of The United States or Amsterdam travel guide for Android

Interests

(Obviously traveling) I really like adventurous travel.
I'm not super athletic by any means but that doesn't stop me. I love hiking, trekking, diving, snorkeling, snowboarding, jumping off cliffs and out of airplanes, you know...

I like reading and watching international movies.

Karaoke/ Noraebang

History, culture, that kind of thing. I'm pretty intrigued by colonialism, particularly the British Empire and Japanese occupations. It's fascinating how imperialism and greed affected our modern daily lives so acutely.

I'm a nerd I guess

• culture
• partying
• drinking
• movies
• reading
• traveling
• socializing
• blogging
• karaoke
• hiking
• surfing
• scuba diving
• snorkeling
• snowboarding
• history
• tourism
• language exchange

Music, Movies, and Books

1000 Splendid Suns- a book (along with Kite Runner) that every American should read to get a better idea of daily life in Afghanistan
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
The Elegance of the Hedgehog
anything by Murakami
also I love reading about psychology and cognitive sciences (yes, that is sort of an odd thing to put on a profile but that seems to take up the majority of my reading these days, so if you're interested I'm sure we could talk about it)
music- my current choice to dance around the apartment in is Daddy Yankee
*update* and Kpop
love hip hop- I'm from Atlanta!
movies... I like documentaries and educational videos, like lectures on academic earth

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Just going. I'm so proud that after putting myself through 5 years of college I could finally realize the dream!

However, just to make myself sound a little less generic I'll say that going to North Korea was the most interesting trip of my life.

Teach, Learn, Share

The most important thing about traveling is meeting people. There are billions of potential friends who can teach you something and share experiences with you. It's so important to respect other cultures because you will always learn something.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Cuba, France, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Mexico, Myanmar, North Korea, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Vatican City State, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Japan, South Korea