I think that travel is one of the most important things a person can do, and that fear makes strangers out of those who should be friends.

I love to learn and explore and to get off the beaten path (I wouldn't be on Couchsurfing otherwise!) I don't let fear rule my life and I do things that scare me on a fairly regular basis. I'm deeply opposed to "What-Ifs" and I would rather regret the things I did than regret the things I didn't do.

I think everyone has a story that's worth hearing, and I meet very few people I don't get along with.

PHILOSOPHY

"This is what you shall do: Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning god, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown to any man or number of men, go freely with powerful uneducated persons and with the young and with the mothers of families, read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life, re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul, and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in its words but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes and in every motion and joint of your body..." - Walt Whitman

PLACES I'VE SURFED
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Johannesburg, South Africa
Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Istanbul, Turkey
Bangkok, Thailand
Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Because I think people have a moral obligation to travel responsibly and respectfully, and because I don't like curated or exploitative demonstrations of culture or place.

Interests

Some of my favorite hobbies are: cooking, baking, rock climbing, playing video/computer/board games, yoga, hula hooping (even though I'm bad at it!), going to concerts and festivals, listening to music, traveling, and trying to teach myself how to play an assortment of random instruments.

Some general topics I'm interested in and that I enjoy discussing are: gender equality, international development/aid, health, and disability rights and advocacy.

Music, Movies, and Books

Just a few of my favorites!

Movies - Fight Club, Amelie, Shaun of the Dead, Hook, Romy and Michele's High School Reunion, Rocky Horror Picture Show

TV - Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Wire, Broad City, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Rick and Morty

Music - Kanye West (yes, I'm serious), Kendrick Lamar, Neko Case, Major Lazer, Modest Mouse, Kacey Musgraves, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, Toro Y Moi, Junglepussy, Bonobo

Books - One Hundred Years of Solitude, Harry Potter, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, The Magicians, The Waves, His Dark Materials

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Took a bus, alone, from Turkey into Iraqi Kurdistan during Ramadan last year

Watched the sunrise (with thousands of other revelers!) at Burning Man

Deep-water soloed (where you climb without a rope and fall into the ocean when you can't climb anymore) in Halong Bay, Vietnam

Climbed my very first trad route (where you place your own protective gear in small fissures in the rock) in Vantage, Washington

Went out with a group of marine biologists working with NASA satellite imagery to get up close and personal with whale sharks in Tofo, Mozambique

Leaped from the world's highest bungee swing in Durban, South Africa

Took a hot air balloon ride over Cappadocia, Turkey

Ran my very first 5k on St. Patrick's Day

Danced on stage with Sir Mix-a-Lot to "Baby Got Back!" It's as if my entire life had been leading to that moment...

Teach, Learn, Share

I'd be happy to help people learn how to do yoga, how to bake, and how to write (I worked as a writing tutor for two years).

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, France, Iceland, India, Iraq, Mozambique, Netherlands, South Africa, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Viet Nam, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States

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