Hello!

I am new to couchsurfing, and am still in the process of building my profile, but am excited to connect with other travellers.

Travelling and living/working/studying in foreign countries has been a part of my life since childhood. I'm currently based in Berlin, and I've also lived in Switzerland and Austria at various points. I have travelled extensively and consider travel a major part of my identity. Originally, however, I am from the desert southwest, specifically Tucson Arizona, a small city about a hundred miles north of the boarder with Mexico and the set of many 1950s wild west films.

My career is in international museum and archival work, and I am currently doing a masters degree in Global and Postcolonial History. I'm interested in historical and sociological perspectives on design, popular culture, and visual representation in the modern period. My research focuses on the intersection of clothing and social matrices of power and performance.

Besides traveling, I enjoy cooking, reading, and discussing art, history and social theory. I am queer, and interested in connecting with other LGBTQ+ travelers and hosts.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I'm looking for a place to stay for the night in towns where I am traveling.

I love cross-cultural exchange and learning about other people and places by actually experiencing their reality, not acting like a tourist and looking only through a camera lens that reaffirms my own assumptions. I want to be challenged to see people in a new way, and the best way to do that is to interact genuinely with real people who know the place and its culture.

As a student who loves to travel and wants to see the world, it is also important for me to be conservative with funds. The karma of lovely people opening their homes to me will surely be passed along, once I have a home that I can open to travelers in the future.

Thank you !

I am also living in Berlin and excited to meet people here and passing through! Let me know if you are in Berlin, and I am happy to show you around the city.

Music, Movies, and Books

Currently Listening to: Brandi Carlile, LP, King Princess, Bill Evans, Björn Ingelstam

Watching: Věra Chytilová's Daisies

Reading: Elizabeth Wilson's Adorned in Dreams, Alison Bechdel's Fun Home, everything by Barbara Kingsolver, Maggie Nelson's Argonauts

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I'm not sure if this counts as "amazing," but I once hiked to the top of an Alp near Luzern, Switzerland with a sprained ankle (it went completely numb after about an hour, so it really wasn't that bad), because I was too stubborn to tell the rest of my party that I had turned it in a hole near the head of the trail and was injured. I'd fractured the same ankle less than six months before and it hasn't been the same since, but the view was totally worth it.

Teach, Learn, Share

I've lived in a lot of places in America (LA, NYC, Virginia, Arizona, traveled all over the states on road trips) and am more than happy to share my experiences. I've also travelled in Europe, North Africa, And South America-- its only the beginning!

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can cook! I love to cook healthy vegetarian meals, and enjoy cooking with and for others.
I have a few good stories and a lot of curiosity. I am helpful and personally very tidy.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Norway, Peru, Portugal, Scotland, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Tunisia, United States, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

Austria, Germany, Switzerland, United States