I'm a student at Kansas State University (go 'Cats). I've been learning German for about 3 years now, and lived in Germany with a host family during June 2014, after spending a week in Vienna. Before that, in high school, I kept busy with band, choir, theater, and working at a frozen custard shop. When I was about 15 I started teaching myself piano. I'm not great at it, but I get by. Currently I'm studying Mechanical Engineering and German.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I've only traveled outside the US once, but it was a type of trip that not many Americans get to take. Most stay in resorts or hotels, see the big sights aimed at tourists, and spend too much money at gift shops. In my opinion, they don't get to truly experience the culture as much as they could. They don't get to see the culture from the perspective of the locals. As I said in the "About Me" section, I lived with a German host family for about a month, and I think that staying with them really allowed me to experience the culture to a degree that most travelers don't get to. I didn't just get to see the culture; I got to live it. I hope that Couchsurfing will help me continue to travel this way, where I get to do more than see the things advertised in brochures. Plus, if I can save money while doing it, that's always a plus.

Interests

I'm very interested in the German language and culture. The interest started in high school when I was required to take a foreign language, and I chose German because it's similar to English in many ways, and my ancestors were mostly German. I ended up loving it, and found the culture very interesting, so I decided to keep studying it. I also am interested in music. I don't study it now that I'm in college, but back in high school about half of my classes were music-related.

• cats
• culture
• theater
• shopping
• traveling
• music
• piano
• rock climbing
• engineering
• history

Music, Movies, and Books

My favorite music genre is alternative/indie. Favorite bands include Weezer, Death Cab for Cutie, Tame Impala, Phoenix, and Two Door Cinema Club. I also enjoy older music like Chicago, Three Dog Night, Kansas, the Beach Boys, and the Beatles. Those are the types of bands that my dad would listen to when I was growing up. Recently I've also some to appreciate and enjoy classical music. This happened while I was teaching myself to play the piano and taking a music theory class.

My favorite movies include Napoleon Dynamite, the Shawshank Redemption, In Bruges, and basically any good movie or dumb movie that can make me laugh.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Climbing the hill to Dürnstein castle from the town below and getting to explore the ruins is something I'll never forget. The view of the Danube below was amazing, and it was really cool standing in a place with so much history.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can tell you about life in America and Kansas, which many people don't know much about besides the Wizard of Oz.