CURRENT MISSION

Plan to be spontaneous

ABOUT ME

Hi all! My name is Angela--

School/Career Goals: I am 23 year-old medical student from New York City. College-- my freshman year was at St. John's University in Jamaica, NY, but then I transferred to Stony Brook University because I was really interested in their Biomedical Engineering program, and it was much more affordable. I spent three years at SBU and earned a combined degree program (Bachelor of Engineering/Master of Science) in 2010, and started med school that fall. I absolutely love it at NYU School of Medicine! I am not sure "what I want to be when I grow up" quite yet, but I can see myself in Orthopedics, a surgical sub-specialty, in Emergency Medicine, or in Cardiac EP.

Family: Family is very important to me. I am fortunate to have a very loving and supportive family. My mom and dad (happily married) and two younger sisters (Geri, 21 and Christine, 19) live on Long Island with my dog Sandy (15 y/o yellow lab) and my two cats Lilly and Reilly. I go home to visit them about once a month. The person I look up to the most in the world is my dad, and the best friend I could ever have is my youngest sister Christine. I have one living grandparent (my mom's mom), 5 cousins and 5 sets of aunts/uncles--all of whom either live in New York or Massachusetts.

Childhood: I had a very happy and healthy childhood. I have lived in my house on Long Island my whole life up until college. My hometown, Centereach, is suburban, pop 26000 but somehow everyone knows everyone. I have a softball field and my elementary school across the street from my house. My parents were both very present, positive figures in my upbringing. We had the kind of house where friends were always welcome, emotions and feelings mattered, and schoolwork came first. We went to church on most Sundays as a family. I grew up on Disney movies and Nickelodeon. In the summers, my sisters and I played softball on a league and went to the beach. I got to be a kid.

Friends: My friends are fun, they like to go out and have a good time but are also content to stay in, watch a movie. They are beer enthusiasts, nature enthusiasts, adventure enthusiasts. My friends are outgoing, they speak their mind, they always have my back.

Relationship: I am in a very happy relationship with my boyfriend Jafar (not the evil wizard from Aladdin), we have been dating about 6 months, I think he is the greatest thing since sliced bread. I have had one other significant relationship, which ended on good terms.

Sports and Athletics: My all-time favorite pro-sports teams is New York Yankees. I am the president of the Softball Club and the Martial Arts Club at NYU Med.
Back in NYC, I am training in Krav Maga, which is a martial art developed by the Isreali Special Forces similar to MMA and street fighting. I train about 5-8 hours a week, and I absolutely love it.

Past jobs: swim instructor, beach lifeguard, bartender, waitress, softball umpire, math/science tutor, clinical research coordinator in Cardiology, bench researcher in Chemistry/Engineering

Religious views: secular, but I love learning about the history of religions. My family is Roman Catholic but not avidly religious.

I identify as heterosexual but I can appreciate women.
I'm not very involved in or knowledgeable about politics.

Favorite animal: ocelot
Most hated animal: worms

Favorite Disney Movie: Lion King
Favorite Disney Princess: Jasmine

I love beer, especially IPAs, stouts, and brown ales. If it's not THAT kind of (awesome) bar/pub and all the beer is shit, my mixed drink is a Margarita with Midori + Tequila, on the rocks. I am not a huge fan of pot but not anti-it either. I never tried any other drugs.

I love to sing and dance. I'm not particularly good at either but its still fun! I play flute, I am pretty good, used to be better.

I am the type of person who 'wears my heart on my sleeve'. It's good and bad at the same time.

PHILOSOPHY

From the Quran: If you were to count all your blessings, you would not be able to count them.

I believe life is to be enjoyed and appreciated, to be lived to the fullest. Life, and the people you love, are never to be taken for granted. I am lucky to have my life, my health, my family, my friends. I have everything I could ever ask for-- clean water, plenty of food, a safe and warm house, healthcare, my sanity and peace of mind. I live in a country where I am free, in a place where everything is accessible to me, where opportunities are limitless. Not everyone in this world can say the same.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I am really excited for the opportunity to meet new people and explore the world! This summer, I will be traveling around quite a bit and am very grateful to anyone who could meet me for a drink and/or host me on their couch. When I return home, I would be glad to meet travelers in New York City to help them feel welcome, and provide a couch if needed.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I am brand new to Couch Surfing! I will update this section once I get started. So far, I got a very kind letter from a member of the Welcome team from CS.

Interests

I adore what I am studying in school--medicine, and what I had studied in the past-- Biomedical engineering (which is hospital technology--designing prosthetics, biosensors, ect). But I am also very interested in non-sciency fields, I especially love American History and literature.

I discovered last summer in Japan that I love climbing mountains (hiked a bit in the Japanese Alps and did an overnight Fuji climb, amazing!).

I am newly into fighting martial arts... I am training at a Krav Maga academy. I am not an aggressive person outside of my training at all.

I am interested in traveling! I'm interested in trying new things, experiencing different cultures, and learning about people and places.

• animals
• cats
• dogs
• arts
• literature
• singing
• dancing
• dining
• beer
• instructor
• drinking
• clubbing
• pub crawls
• politics
• technology
• movies
• traveling
• surfing
• sports
• martial arts
• rock climbing
• swimming
• softball
• chemistry
• teaching
• engineering
• history
• mathematics
• medicine
• religion
• science
• beaches
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: For the most part, I appreciate a wide spectrum of what I would classify as "rock", but one may classify my musical interests as a bit all over the place. My heart is with classic rock (Beatles, Stones, Zeppelin, Tull, Hendrix, Yes, Santana, Sting, Eagles ect), but I also get really pumped up listening to Metal + the like (Metallica, Dethklok, Lamb of God, Unearth ect). Other artists I really enjoy are Switchfoot, Lifehouse, Norah Jones, Nirvana, John Mayer. I also love jazz and classical music. For dancing, I will take Spanish or hip-hop over house/techno any day of the week.

Movies: Inglorious Bastards, Pulp Fiction, Shawshank Redemption, Braveheart, Fight Club, Sin City, Gladiator, V for Vendetta, Hannibal Lecter series, Pirates of the Caribbean, Monty Python's Meaning of Life

Books: I am reading Catch-22 and Walden right now, and am mid-Dark Tower series. Favorite books are Pillars of the Earth, His Dark Materials, and most things Vonnegut or Palahniuk. As a rule, I like reading the classics (favorite classic: Candide), but also like to read non-fiction, mostly about history (Guns, Germs and Steel was very cool).

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I was really lucky to have the opportunity to witness the Paper Lantern Ceremony in Hiroshima, Japan on the 65th anniversary of the A-bomb.

Teach, Learn, Share

Teach: how to play flute, swimming, bartending, math+science/MCAT tutoring
Learn: anything

Countries I’ve Visited

Ghana, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Spain, Turkey

Countries I’ve Lived In

Germany, Japan, United States