Hi! My name's Carol, and I'm from Melbourne, Australia. I first started travelling in 2014 as a cultural exchange participant in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, where I lived with a Taiwanese family and participated in a teaching exchange program at a local elementary school, and I since have not stopped travelling Asia, exploring the diversity of cultures, languages, and histories in Asia.

As a traveller, it's important for me to form relationships with the host place and people by living as anthropologically as possible, respecting cultures and communities by learning their language and history, and to be socially conscious of how my travelling and consumer choices might be impacting place and people. For me, this might mean avoiding environmentally or socially problematic tourist areas and services, removing preconceptions of societies constructed by media, popular culture, or mass tourism, and respecting communities' natural environments by opting for the least environmentally damaging option and minimising consumption, or consuming only when necessary, while travelling (such as in terms of food, natural resources, and transport).

It's also important for me to constantly reflect on my self-perception as a traveller, and to be aware of how I construct images of or interpret societies, and the kind of language I use to express this.

As a person, I'd say I'm generally introverted and enjoy quality one-on-one time, I live to see my favourite bands and artists live, my sense of humour is a little weird and dark, and I express myself and my mood through my style!

我为什么加入 Couchsurfing

While Couchsurfing might be free accommodation and a fun way of meeting new people, it's also about a host giving up their space and time, their hospitality, a guest's respect for this, and mutual trust - and I think this makes a strong basis for friendship!

兴趣

Besides travelling, I love cooking and indulging in vegan foods (and trying vegan adaptations of conventionally meat-based cuisines; I'm not vegan but aspire to be!), dissolving myself in a gripping or inspiring book, and the simple tactile satisfaction of putting pen/pencil to paper... (notebooks and sketchbooks are my vices).

• yoga
• live music
• visual arts
• learning new languages
• veganism
• vegan cooking
• sustainable living
• environmental issues
• contemporary literature
• world literature

音乐、电影和书籍

Current faves...
The Hate Race by Maxine Beneba-Clarke
The Man with the Compound Eyes by Wu Mingyi

All time favourite bands...
Muse
Garbage

Graphic novel faves include...
The One Summer by Mariko Tamaki
Y: The Last Man!

我做过的一件不可思议的事情

I once ran a half-marathon... :)

教，学，和分享

Trying to learn Mandarin and Japanese, and trying to improve my Vietnamese and Italian.

我可以与沙发主分享些什么

Language exchange!

我游览过的国家

Laos, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Viet Nam

我居住过的国家

Taiwan