I've frequently been described as 'the type of person that can get along with anyone.' I love meeting new people and hearing about where they come from, what they think about life and the reasons they think that way. My own perspective on life in a nutshell is that no one knows what they're really doing and we're all just trying to blindly figure it out, more or less. From that basis, I would say that I am a bit more understanding and nonjudgmental than others as I see us as all going through a shared, beautiful struggle.

I love going out and dancing, but, conversely, I also like having deeper conversations with people privately. I am an open book and strive to live authentically. I hope to meet you soon :)

PHILOSOPHY

"A ship in a harbor is safe, but that's not why ships are built."

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

To meet people, grow reciprocally and open my mind.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

1. Seoul, Korea - Stayed with Peter (American)

2. Gwangju, Korea - Stayed with Alice (Korean)

3. Kobe, Japan - Stayed with Anne (American)

4. Kyoto, Japan - Stayed with Masashi (Japanese)

5. Osaka, Japan - Stayed with Vivian (Canadian)

6. Hiroshima, Japan - Met with Mike and Tomohiro (American; Japanese)

7. Kagawa, Japan - Met with Natsumi (Japanese)

8. Kagawa, Japan - Met with Mayumi (Japanese)

9. Kagawa, Japan - Met with Yume and Marina (Japanese)

10. Shiga, Japan - Stayed with Sakiko (Japanese)

11. Mie, Japan - Stayed with Barry (Canadian)

12. Melaka, Malaysia - Stayed with Pearly (Malaysian)

13. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Met with Jesmine (Malaysian)

14. Batam, Indonesia - Stayed with Hadi (Indonesian)

15. Singapore - Stayed with Salome (Singaporean)

16. Manila, Philippines - Stayed with Nabil (Filipino)

17. Kagawa, Japan - Met with Lea (Slovakian)

18. Yamaguchi, Japan - Stayed with the Fujita family (Japanese)

19. Yamaguchi, Japan - Met with Naoko (Japanese)

20. Aomori, Japan - Stayed with Ted (American)

21. Akita, Japan - Stayed with Tai (Japanese)

22. Miyagi, Japan - Stayed with Christina & Lau (Canadian; Scottish)

23. Kagawa, Japan - Hosted EJ (Korean) - My first surfer!

24. Fukuoka, Japan - Stayed with Chizuru (Japanese)

25. Saga, Japan - Met with Kayo (Japanese)

26. Saga, Japan - Stayed with Sho (Japanese)

27. Nagasaki, Japan - Met with Waka & friends (Japanese)

28. Nagasaki, Japan - Stayed with Shun & family (Japanese)

29. Kumamoto, Japan - Stayed with Shino (Japanese)

30. Kagoshima, Japan - Stayed with Lily (English)

31. Miyazaki, Japan - Stayed with Mari & family (Japanese)

32. Gifu, Japan - Stayed with Sally (Australian)

33. Niigata, Japan - Stayed with Dima & family (Russian)

34. Fukushima, Japan - Stayed with Reiko (Malaysian)

35. Ibaraki, Japan - Met with Aalhad (Indian)

36. Ibaraki, Japan - Stayed with Yoshi (Japanese)

37. Hong Kong - Met with Venus (Chinese)

38. Mackay, Australia - Stayed with Dogfish (American)

39. Beijing, China - Met Chelsea (American) @ CNY Party

40. Okinawa, Japan - Stayed with Namiko and Tatsuhiko (Japanese)

41. Okinawa, Japan - Stayed with Ujval (American)

42. Okinawa, Japan - Stayed with Fred (American)

43. Okinawa, Japan - Stayed with Irina (Russian)

44. Yamanashi, Japan - Met with Akari (Japanese)

45. Kagawa, Japan - Hosted Alina and Daniel (Austrian)

46. Kagawa, Japan - Hosted Barbora (Czech)

47. Osaka, Japan - Stayed with Kirin (Australian)

48. Kagawa, Japan - Hosted Allen (Canadian), Daniel (Australian), Aya & Rikako (Japanese)

49. Kagawa, Japan - Hosted William, Martin, Natalylia (American) & Joy (Canadian)

50. Taipei, Taiwan - Met Jennifer and Mike (Taiwanese) @ CS Event

51. Taipei, Taiwan - Met with Sherry (Taiwanese)

52. Hualien, Taiwan - Stayed with Dylan (Taiwanese)

53. Hualien, Taiwan - Met Justin (American) and Yusuke (Japanese)

54. Tainan, Taiwan - Stayed with Minoru (Japanese-Mexican)

55. Taipei, Taiwan - Met with Jaimie (Taiwanese)

56. Fukushima, Japan - Stayed with Ken (Japanese)

57. Aomori, Japan - Stayed with Tofu (American)

58. Akita, Japan - Stayed with Takaaki (Japanese)

59. Shizuoka, Japan - Stayed with Sohko (Japanese)

60. Saga, Japan - Stayed with Julia (Chinese)

61. Hamburg, Germany - Stayed with Moe (German)

62. Berlin, Germany - Stayed with Nike (German)

63. Rome, Italy - Met with Arlen (Honduran-Italian)

64. Rome, Italy - Met with Clare (Hong Konger)

65. Kagawa, Japan - Hosted David (Australian)

Surfed: 40 times
Hosted: 6 times*
Met People Through: 19 times

I have stayed with families, couples, individual men and individual women without any problems at all. I thoroughly enjoyed everyone that has hosted me or that I have met up with, and I would recommend them all to everyone.

*To justify the surfing/hosting discrepancy a bit, I will say a few things: 1) I don't live in the most tourist-attracting area of Japan, 2) I only got a car about a year ago and because of my rural placement couldn't really host before that, 3) I often work/volunteer at nights which gives me little 'free time' in my regular life, 4) though I'm down to host people who just kind of need a place to stay, my personality sometimes makes it hard to do so since I really want to ensure I give them the BEST experience possible and not just be an empty room to stay in (which you can see reflected in my references!)

Interests

Traveling, philosophy, dancing, feminism, Japanese, networking, contemporary art, etymology, writing.

• arts
• writing
• books
• contemporary art
• dancing
• womens rights
• partying
• drinking
• drinking games
• traveling
• socializing
• surfing
• etymology
• volunteering

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies - The Lego Movie, The Matrix, Waking Life, Gladiator, Braveheart, Happy Gilmore, The Wedding Singer, Fight Club, Sin City, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, Click, Before Sunset/Sunrise/Midnight, My Neighbor Totoro, Howl's Moving Castle, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Ikegami, The Raid 2

TV Shows - Six Feet Under, Frasier, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Game of Thrones, Black Mirror, Star Trek: TNG/DS9, House of Cards

Books - Beyond Good and Evil, Twilight of Idols, The Myth of Sisyphus, Catch 22, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Brothers Karamazov, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Cat's Cradle, Nineteen Eighty-Four, A Song of Ice and Fire (series), The Game, The Art of Travel

Music - I know it sounds like a cop out, but I like everything and will listen to anything depending on my mood

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I have been to all 47 prefectures of Japan! I'm currently 5 prefectures away from finishing it a second time.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can breakdance, write pretty well, speak a little bit of Japanese and can debate almost anything. I guess I know something about philosophy, and I especially love having deeper-than-normal conversations. I also seem to know a lot of fun icebreakers (which can double up as drinking games) and card games.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can offer you an attentive, intellectual conversation partner, a social butterfly that loves dancing, a guy that says 'yes' to whatever crazy adventure you concoct, or all of the above. It's your choice :)

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Cambodia, Canada, China, Cuba, Czech Republic, England, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, United States, Vatican City State, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, Japan