The best part about couchsurfing to me is the food exchange and that fun feeling of foreign-ness. Sometimes when traveling by plane and staying in a hotel, the mystery of being in a different country is no longer there. because these modern luxuries elide and merge our differences. I believe that staying in the home of someone in a foreign country allows me to remain detached and able to see the fun in things, which is why I travel in the first place- to find different things that I would not find at home- and the more places that I go, the harder it is to find unique things. Couchsurfing is a way to share the un-tamed culture, which we easily forget is there when traveling in this era.

I grew up with a very mixed influence of music. I enjoy listening to foreign music at the moment. I want to read everything that I come across.... books about feminism, food, politics, novels, newspaper articles, newsletters... I have recently found comfort in reading long blogs of travel writers such as Pico Iyer, and novels by Paulo Coelho. My favorite author is Zadie Smith. Favorite Book: Notes on a Foreign Country by Susan Hansen. As a young girl I read mystery novels by Nancy Drew that my mother bought for me. As an adolescent I read legal thrillers by John Grisham from my mother's collection. I liked the satire/humor of Kurt Vonnegut when I was an angsty college student. Alan Watts has made a positive impact on the way I view heavy life stuff ;)