CURRENT MISSION

My mission in my travels always is to experience as fully as possible, to see the famous sites, but also to get to know the people, the culture, and the everyday life of the places I am visiting.

ABOUT ME

Hi there! My name is Anisa Li and I'm a mechanical engineer in the San Francisco Bay Area. I'm originally from a small city outside of San Francisco, but have lived in Boston and New York, as well. I tend to be quiet and observational upon first meeting, but love substantial conversations with interesting new people. I love music, food, and adventure!

PHILOSOPHY

If you want to do something and it scares you, it'll probably be great.

Interests

I love travelling and experiencing new things and cultures. I'm interested in art and draw and paint in free time; I love making things. My main language is English, though I speak elementary French, a tiny bit of Portuguese, and took crash-course German for a month (though I've let a lot of this slide since graduating college). I am always interested in picking up new phrases and languages. I love music (both playing and listening) as well as nature and hiking. I love doing spontaneous things - my favorite kinds of experiences are the unexpected ones!

• arts
• culture
• dining
• crafts
• traveling
• painting
• drawing
• music
• piano
• hiking
• surfing
• engineering

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

When I was 16, I was on a students' trip to Europe. I was really excited; they were taking us to see all of the big sites: Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, the Eiffel Tower, etc. This was one of our days in France, and we were visiting L'arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower in the morning, and Montmartre in the afternoon. At this point in the trip I was getting pretty annoyed, because the trip had kept us all in one giant group of American students the entire time, keeping us away from anything truly part of that country or culture, only allowing us in the strictly tourist zones and places where everyone spoke English and knew we were Americans. So, in the afternoon trip to Montmartre, I wandered a little further on my own, out of the tourist zone. I'd been taking French in school and wanted to finally get my chance to practice. I wound up wandering by myself along little side-streets, through small shops and markets, and successfully navigating in French. It was a simple afternoon, but it was when I realized what it is I want out of my travels - not to be a tourist on vacation, but to be a person living through the world.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach/share: piano playing, drawing/painting, other arts and crafts, the basics of thermodynamics and mechanical systems
I would love to learn: how to make a traditional food/meal, any language, your ideas about life and priorities

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Mexico, Netherlands, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States