Helllooooo beautiful and lovely souls!

My birth name is Elizabeth but I go by many different names, with most people calling me Lizard these days, but also Liz, Lizzie, Wiz, Wizzie, Lizanna, Za... So so many names, and whatever feels best for you is perfect for me. I have no preference!

I've been traveling around for over a year now, living on the road, exploring different states, countries, farms, renegades. Life is truly an adventure! I was a Peace Corps Volunteer, living in Mankono Ba, Senegal, West Africa! I was an Agroforestry volunteer, teaching locals in my village how to create tree nurseries, properly outplant and manage trees. My service was mostly focused on environmental education. While in service, I learned to speak Mandinka and still can speak it rather well (there was no option for Mandinka on the language tab!). Anyways, once COVID hit, all volunteers worldwide were evacuated back stateside, and since then, I've worked on a few different farms, lived on the road, volunteered on a biological research station in Costa Rica, and just adventured (vagabonded) around, making new friends and falling in love with new places nearly everyday.

If I were a tree, with many different roots and branches, this is what I would be made up of: a nemophilist (someone who finds peace, serenity, and calm in nature's arms), an environmentalist, bookworm, plant medicines, birder, musician (I play piano, ukulele, guitar, and I sing! Please let's play together), wildlife biologist, spirituality, minimalist, traveler, free spirit, Gemini, hiker, backpacker, ethical food consumer, adventurer, journalist, volunteer, rock climber, kalabantee (trickster/jokester)... So so so many things, my tree is lush, blooming, and constantly growing.

I've started writing essentially an autobiography, but really it's a blog that you can/are encouraged to checkout to better get to know me! www.roaminglizardblog.wordpress.com

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I had a beautiful friend (and then afterwards many other friends) recommend Couchsurfing to me! It was my idea/plan to hike the Camino de Santiago and then backpack around Europe at large afterwards. My plans my be morphing into simply backpacking around Europe instead, as I recently broke a toe and hiking the Camino might not work too well! But, we shall see how it turns out.

Essentially though, that is why I am on Couchsurfing! I would like to travel around Europe in the most economical way possible and also would absolutely love to get to know locals in the areas I'm traveling to - Couchsurfing seems ideal and perfect for this.

Just traveling alone is beautiful, but traveling becomes so much more special and surreal when you can meet people who actual live in the areas you're trying to get to know and make new friends this way.

Interests

• wildlife
• culture
• books
• singing
• minimalism
• music
• guitar
• hiking
• backpacking
• swimming
• nature
• exploring
• adventuring
• vegan food

Music, Movies, and Books

Favorite music? This is soooo hard because I truly feel connected to most musical genres, but lately, I been listening to a lot of folky/soulful music. A lot of Shakey Graves, Mumford and Sons, Alabama Shakes, Tash Sultana, and things of that nature! Seriously though, my musical tastes are all over the board. I can really get down to heavy base music, reggae, and country. Really anything...

Hmmm, movies? Let's see... Favorite movie off of the top of my head is Monsters Inc, but then I also really like Home Alone 1 and 2, and the Narnia movies. Basically kid fantasy movies are great for me. I also like comedy and sometimes some action/adventure. I don't watch a lot of movies though, it's not really a big interest for me.

Now books, that's where it's at! Books have really started me off on my spiritual journey and has really been a huge part of my life. The first to come to mind is the Celestine Prophecy, then as follows: The Gift of Anger, Tao Te Ching, The Heart Sutra and Beyond, The Upanishads, The Power of Now, The Wisdom of Your Face, Braiding Sweetgrass, The Forest, The Hidden Life of Trees, Let the Mountains Talk, Let the Rivers Run, Into the Wild, The Cosmic Serpent - DNA and The Origins of Knowledge, How to Do The Work.... So so so so so many books.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Oh this is truly a hard one.

My first inclination is to say being a Peace Corps Volunteer living in Senegal, West Africa. I lived in a village called Mankono Ba with about 1,500 people. I was one of the only people who spoke English, with an exception of a local English teacher in my village. I spoke Mandinka and lived in a hut with a thatch roof that had no electricity or running water (I helped thatch the roof myself too!). My hut was located in the compound that I shared with my beautiful host family. My host dad was the village chief. I adopted a local name and even a local dog. I walked every morning to the Casamance River and ate rice 2 or 3 times a day with my hands. I followed the cultural norms as best as I could and hitched rides everywhere I went.

It was beautiful and incredible. One of the most amazing things I've ever done.

Teach, Learn, Share

Hmmmm, I'm a little bit unsure what this tab means! But I'll give it a shot.

I can teach/share a bunch of cool facts about wildlife and nature in general - I'll give a quick one here: the key difference between squirrels and chipmunks (besides genetics) is the way they store food. Squirrels are scatter hoarders; they have excellent (if not perfect) spatial memories and scatter their food stashes seemingly at random all over the place to find later. They usually store an excess of food as a "just incase" mentality, and many people assume they forget where they put their seeds/nuts because of this. I believe it's an evolutionary mechanism to help prepare for harsh winters where they may need more food then originally thought, and also to help actually plant more trees (i.e. make more homes for the future). Chipmunks on the other hand are larder hoarders, they store their food in 1 or 2 "large" underground food vaults/cavities that they can access through underground passages whenever they like.

Hope this is adequate for this block, haha!

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can, as seem already, share lots of book recommendations, wildlife/nature facts, and deep spiritual conversations.

I can also perform for my hosts, playing guitar (I should be traveling with my guitar) and singing! I would actually love to do this.

I also can cook for my hosts! I love making healthy, conscious foods and usually cook vegan too.

I can do body work for my hosts as well, if this feels/seems right for the occasion :)

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, Costa Rica, Gambia, Ireland, Peru, Senegal, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Senegal, United States