CURRENT MISSION

Currently, following my passion and doing non-profit work in the 9 countries of Southern Africa. More generally, travel the world & surround myself with beauty in both landscape and people.

ABOUT ME

I am a free-spirited, fun-loving, nature & people-oriented individual. I love meeting people and helping them, and my passion lies in the non-profit world and in backpacking/globetrotting the world!

My travel blog for this trip: chibirdfreebird.tumblr.com

PHILOSOPHY

Treat others as you would like to be treated.

Lift up others whenever you can, because you never know who might need it.

I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. - Maya Angelou

I’m "bored" is a useless thing to say. I mean, you live in a great, big, vast world that you’ve seen none percent of. Even the inside of your own mind is endless; it goes on forever, inwardly, do you understand? The fact that you’re alive is amazing. So you don’t get to be bored.
-- Louis C.K.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I am pretty new to CS, but am excited to try Couchsurfing during my travels for non-profit work in Southern Africa during the next 6 months!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Having traveled 37 different countries, you would think I'd have done much more couchsurfing than I have at this point! I've had a great time thus far though! :)

Interests

My two favorite things are engaging with nature and with people. I'm pretty much obsessed with nature and outdoorsy activities in general, so if I could spend half of my time traversing the outdoors (hiking, running, rock climbing, yoga) and the other half volunteering in humanitarian projects, I would lead a very happy life indeed :)

• beauty
• yoga
• running
• traveling
• socializing
• blogging
• outdoor activities
• hiking
• backpacking
• rock climbing
• volunteering

Music, Movies, and Books

Seriously... There is just no way I would ever be able to fill this out to full completion! Huge book nerd, music makes the world go 'round, and like most things in life, movies are best when shared with others :)

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Volunteering in the cloudforests of El Cachote in the Dominican Republic changed my life. The people of the Dominican are some of the most down-to-earth people I have ever met in my life. The experiences of working with the kids while building a school and forging a path in the woods for safety are experiences that I will never forget.

I'm a thrill-seeker and white water river rafting in Jinja, Uganda was probably one of the most adrenaline-pumping things I've ever done. I ended up flipping over and over again in the waves, finishing the trip with a bloody nose, a bloody lip and a black eye that stayed with me for a week and a half afterwards, but it was so worth it ;)

Backpacking down the East coast of Africa was one of the most empowering things I have done for myself up until this point. Experiencing the Nile in all of its shapes and forms left me awestruck the entire way down the coast.

Climbing Mt Fuji from 10PM to 4AM just to see the sunrise atop the mountain was an exhilarating experience. I've never been so cold in my life, but it was worth every step & shiver :)

Teach, Learn, Share

I believe you can learn something from every single person, old or young, energetic or weary, optimistic or pessimistic. Everything happens for a reason, including the people who walk in and out of your life :)

As for teaching - I LOVE it. I love teaching people anything and everything I know! Not sure how much that is, but whatever knowledge I do have in this head of mine is up for sharing! :)

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Botswana, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, Greece, Japan, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mexico, Mozambique, Namibia, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, United Kingdom, United States, Viet Nam, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States