CURRENT MISSION

To meet with travelers (or perhaps people enjoying a staycation) in the 319 area

ABOUT ME

Holla! What's up fellow couch surfer? My name is Jenna. :)

PHILOSOPHY

in search of undefined enlightenment.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have had the BEST experiences of my life with the people met on CouchSurfing.org.

In Switzerland, a gracious couch surfing host explained why Swiss people pay so much $ for shoes, showed me her music collection, introduced me to her co-workers at the nightclub where she worked...

A French couple, with an apartment on the beach in Nice, hosted me and two of my friends. WIthin the first hour of meeting, our host gave a tour of the outdoor market in downtown Nice (he rollerbladed there!) and told us about the cultural significance of the city and where to go, what to do. One evening our co-hosts invited a gaggle of other "surfers" over for an AMAZING feast (pesto pasta, cheeseburgers (the couple requested "typical American food!" and way too many other carbohydrates. We drank a lot of wine, talked about life--with the ocean breezes flowing through and Sia playing in the background...memorable night indeed.

In Villefrance, a group of ridiculously amazing guys opened up their house and allowed both me and friends to spend a week with them. The boys explained their upbringing and traditions and we talked about politics/economics/society in the US. Every night, our hosts took turns cooking grilling chicken kabobs, making couscous and hummus, etc. One day, two of the guys drove us to the beach, another day, they took us to Monte Carlo, and on the last day, they dropped us off at the train station. Over the top generosity. At night, everyone staying at villa listened to music much too loud and drank entirely too much wine, and definitely stayed up to watch the sun rise over Cap Ferrat several times.

As a fairly cautious person who would have nevvvvver considered staying at someone's house before my friend Janie introduced me to CS--the five times I have couchsurfed have been more rewarding and enlightening (and safe) than just about anything I have ever done. In my eight months living and working in Nancy, France as a language assistant in a high school -- it is seriously the people and the experiences I had with my friends in those locations that have stuck with me more than anything. I LOVE CS.

Interests

-Cooking: I love Barefoot Contessa, Cooks Illustrated.com, and watching the Food Network
-Playing with my dogs named Zoey and Lily, crazy yellow labs, obsessed with playing frisbee
-Science: Thinking about thinking
-Fashion: Following blogs, runway, and shoppppping!
-Reading: Primarily non-fiction, biographies, or whatever Ian McEwan publishes.

And obviously, traveling and meeting people!

• dogs
• fashion
• dining
• cooking
• wine
• red wine
• marathon
• walking
• politics
• reading
• traveling
• socializing
• music
• outdoor activities
• surfing
• economics
• science
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: When Harry Met Sally, English Patient, Doctor Zhivago, 2 Days in Paris, Scent of A Woman, Emma

Music: Justin Timberlake, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Madonna, Timbaland

Books: The Corrections, East of Eden, Claudine at School

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

-Paris Marathon PR!
-Merely walking around Rome. Glamorous, decadent, PASTA, red wine, beautifully groomed men!
-Visiting my "homeland" in Norway
-Laying on the beach...any beach...
-Eating stroopwafflen (spell?) in Amsterdam because those babies are the best cookies on the face of the planet
-Celebrating my friend Colleen's 23rd birthday with Champagne and gossip, after she flew thousands of miles to visit, on the Champs de Mars, near the Tour Eiffel

Teach, Learn, Share

Helen Keller described it best, "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all."

Countries I’ve Visited

Barbados, Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, United States