Hello !
I am currently a third year college student from California studying abroad in Bordeaux, France for a semester. I am studying Economics, Statistics, and Art at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

I grew up in the Silicon Valley then left home to move south to Santa Barbara, a 1.5 drive from Los Angeles, for college. This past year, I was able to explore Los Angeles and the southern half of California to my heart's content. This sparked my love for traveling, exploring, and food.

This is my first time in France and in Europe. I grew up studying French all throughout high school, so finally getting able to live and experience the country I learned everyday about is absolutely a dream. However, I did not take any French classes in college, so prior to moving to France I had to revisit the French I previously learned for four years. Duolingo was my best friends over the summer. I would love to practice my French !

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I am new to CS! Multiple friends of mine, who are also students that enjoy traveling, recommended this platform to me, so I decided to give it a shot.

I am a full-time student who desires to travel while I can, thus Couchsurfing gives me this opportunity to do so while on a budget. I want to meet local people in the cities I visit and meet new people who I can learn from and gain new perspectives of life from. I strongly desire to expand my knowledge of the world, the cultures, and all the people around it.

Interests

• animals
• arts
• singing
• fashion
• photography
• music festivals
• cooking
• fitness
• painting
• music
• live music
• jazz
• snowboarding
• skateboarding
• economics
• study abroad
• travel
• cinema
• nature
• dance
• digital art
• exploring
• foodie
• musical theatre
• movies and series

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: I love all different types of music, especially indie, alternative, rap, and hip hop. I have a soft spot for classical music and I love 80s and 90s music as well. I sing for fun for my school's jazz combo, so I adore jazz, listening to it and singing it!
Arctic Monkeys, The Smiths, John Coltrane, Esperanza Spalding, Kendrick Lamar, Brockhampton, Nirvana, SALES, bossa nova, Debussy, Radiohead, Isaiah Rashad, and many more that I can't think of right now.
One of my guilty pleasures is the Kpop group BTS. Additionally, I used to partake in musical theater during high school, so I am also a fan of Broadway.

Movies: Studio Ghibli films (Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, Kiki's Delivery Service, My Neighbor Totoro, Graveyard of the Fireflies...), Whiplash, Disney and Pixar movies, Harry Potter series, Martin Scorsese films, Get Out, Quentin Tarentino, Wes Anderson...
I love psychological horror films, horror films in general, films that make you tear up or cry, and films with aesthetically pleasing color palettes.

TV Shows: Breaking Bad!!! (had to add this one in there)

Books: recently read No-No Boy and America is in the Heart for an Asian American literature class, both of which I highly enjoyed. Currently reading Invisible Man (also for a literature class, haha). I am also a huge fan of Harry Potter (any fellow Ravenclaws out there?).

Teach, Learn, Share

I can probably teach you some things about skateboarding, not many tricks since I'm still learning but if you want to know how to ride I can definitely help you get started with that. I would love to share and teach things about art, like digital drawing on Adobe Photoshop or Procreate, or painting with watercolors/acrylic/gouache. As mentioned earlier, if you want to learn a little about singing or how to play piano or guitar, I'd love to have jam sessions.

Another activity I enjoy doing is cooking, particularly asian cuisine. This past year I have been experimenting with different Chinese and Taiwanese recipes, ones I've grown up eating and ones that I try to make better than my mom has in the past (sorry mom).

Things I'd love to learn are just your perspective on life, and your story! I love hearing what people's individual take aways on life are. I am a great listener and love to hear people talk. And maybe if you had some cool skills or talents to share, I'd love to dabble with those too.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Friendship, good conversation, good meals... at first I might be a little shy but after some conversation I tend to open up more!

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, China, France, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, United States