Hello! My name is Alison. I am 27 years old and I'm an aspiring Expat. I grew up in the United States, but moved to Oaxaca, Mexico when I was 17 to attend a missions training school. I ended up living there for a year and a half, and still visit back to see my friends. I studied Bilingual Education in Union, NJ as well as a second major of English Writing. I acquired the Chinese minor due to the opportunity to study abroad while in school. I spent four months in Wenzhou, China as a fully scholarshipped student due to my experience as a Writing and ESL tutor. Apart from those experiences, I have also had the opportunity to travel to Hong Kong, Cambodia, and Vanuatu (in the South Pacific) for various missions or ESL opportunities. I absolutely love interacting with people from other cultures. My hope is to one day work in immigration and refugee services, either in the US or (preferably) Southeast Asia. I find I have a knack for communicating despite language barriers. To me, communication is so much more than language, and I don't see why friendship can't start before language barriers are overcome. I've been in the US working in the Dental field as a Treatment Coordinator for the last 3 years after graduating college. There have been health issues holding me back from moving fulltime into overseas work. In the meanwhile though, I trust that God has me where he wants me, and I'm invested in the work and the friendships I have here in NJ until the opportunity to travel comes again.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I have kept to a frugal lifestyle all the years I've been back from overseas missions so that I could pay my student loans back as quickly as possible and get back to the work I love doing. Normally, I would have the savings available for an occasional vacation. However, this past year my car died and, loathe to take out another loan when I was so so close to paying off my student loans, I cashed out all of my savings to buy another used vehicle. Due to this, and the increased cost of Marketplace insurance this year, I don't have the funds available to stay in a hotel. The trip I am taking from Feb 2nd to 4th in Tennesee is for a Worship conference. I prayed a lot about the opportunity to attend, despite the fact that my funds wouldn't cover both the conference and a hotel. I felt that it was appropriate to book the trip and live on faith this time. So I am hoping that I can make a connection via Couchsurfing to find a safe place to stay during the conference. If you think we'd have enough in common, but wouldn't mind my not being home except during the evenings. please reach out. Thanks!

Interests

• writing
• running
• cycling
• esl
• embroidery
• jewelry making

Music, Movies, and Books

Mostly Christian music. Preferably rock style or simple acoustic, such as David Crowder, Skillet, or Shawn Macdonald. For movies, my favorite is Tangled - could watch that over and over. Mostly anything funny and PG rated. As for books, I'll go with any sound suggestion, but mostly I read YA Fiction.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Swam in one of the Top 7 beaches of the world - Champagne Beach in Vanuatu.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can tutor ESL, Spanish, and Writing skills.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Perhaps some language lessons. A lot of crazy stories from living in Mexico. Spiritual encouragement. House cleaning services. Keeping my own things tidy.

Countries I’ve Visited

Cambodia, China, Fiji, Hong Kong, Mexico, Vanuatu

Countries I’ve Lived In

China, Mexico, United States