I'm a 27-year-old American from a beautiful, but very small town in western New York. After some dabbling in international travel in high school in college, I have become completely overwhelmed with all of the places in the world I would love to experience. This led me to studying a semester in Switzerland, teaching a school year in Slovakia, working for a Latin American tour operator and, most recently, spending a working holiday in New Zealand. Luckily for me, my former-college-travel-buddy-turned-husband, has been along with me for most of the ride, making it extra fun. We are now traveling Southeast Asia and are making a stop in Southern Europe en route back to the States.

I am driven by a desire to try new things, which I am sure rings true for most Couchsurfers. I especially love when you are in a new place with new people and you are involved in a completely new conversation that you haven't had before, as I feel we spend so much of our lives saying the same things again and again. I love to be moving and prefer to spend my days on foot or on bike if at all possible whether I am at home or on a trip. I tend to gravitate towards green places and mountains, but I am really learning to appreciate the offerings of the city life as well.

Warum ich bei Couchsurfing bin

It is so easy for traveling to become a checklist where you arrive at a destination, tick off the "must-do's", and then move on feeling you have "done" that destination without ever really experiencing it. I feel that meeting locals who love their home is the only way to get to the true heart of a place in a short time, and the relationships made along the way make that experience even more meaningful. Also, while I haven't formally hosted couchsurfers (yet!), I do know the joy of sharing a place you love with someone new is exhilarating and can inspire you to see your day-to-day surroundings in a new light. It's good for everyone!

Interessen

• singing
• baking
• running
• reading
• cycling
• mountains
• travel
• ice cream
• sustainable tourism
• hiking,
• whippets and greyhounds
• planning parties
• human-powered transportation

Musik, Filme und Bücher

As for my musical tastes, I am willing to try anything once, but I am mainly drawn to folk, indie, pop, classic country or variations on any of the above. Some of my favorites artists include Fleet Foxes, Band of Horses, Lucius, The Avett Brothers, Overcoats, Joseph, Lord Huron and Sylvan Esso. I love singing along to old Johnny Cash or Loretta Lynn in the car, but old school Taylor Swift is my not-so-guilty guilty pleasure from my high school days. While most rapidly advancing technologies terrify me, I do love that we live in an age where Spotify can take all of this and give me playlists of fresh things to try out each week.

My most common contribution to most movie conversations is "Oh, I still haven't seen that." Movies weren't a big thing in my family growing up so I missed a lot of key ones, but I am slowly trying to rectify that. Some movies I've recently seen and really enjoyed were Grand Budapest Hotel, The Danish Girl and Her. My all-time favorites are the Lord of the Rings, Into the Wild and The Princess Bride. When living in Vermont, I would binge TV series to get through the long dark days of winter and love Game of Thrones, Mad Men and Girls. I also just watched the new Planet Earth series, which may be the best thing I have ever seen.

I've always loved reading, although now I tend to go in spurts of four or five books in a row followed by long dry spells. I grew up devouring fantasy and historical fiction, but now I find myself more into memoirs, travelogues and other types of non-fiction. To me there is no worse feeling than committing to starting a book and realizing it isn't as good as I hoped, so I go almost exclusively on recommendations when it comes to fiction. Some titles on my kindle (disclaimer - I prefer physical books, but with traveling, the kindle rules) that I really love include: Shantaram, Where'd You Go Bernadette, Into Thin Air, The Poisonwood Bible, Blue Highways, East of Eden, My First Summer in the Sierra, Tell the Wolves I'm Home and Encounters with the Archdruid. One of my favorite things about meeting other travelers is their book recommendations are always spot on.

Eine tolle Erfahrung, die ich gemacht habe

Swam alongside penguins in the Galapagos.

Was ich mit Gastgebern teilen kann

Sadly I am not an incredible chef or talented artist who can sweep you off your feet with a meal or transform your home during my stay. However, I am very eager and energetic, so I would be happy to try to help with anything needed during my stay. If you have that one thing that you have been wanting to try in your city, but just need an excuse or a person to do it with, I will be happy to join with enthusiasm! One of the things I miss most from home is going on runs, walks and bike rides with my friends, so I can certainly offer companionship for any of those activities if you enjoy them as well. I can also make some mean cinnamon buns if given the opportunity. :)

Länder, die ich besucht habe

Albania, Austria, Belgium, Cambodia, Canada, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, France, Germany, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Montenegro, Myanmar, New Zealand, Peru, Poland, Serbia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Thailand, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Viet Nam

Länder, in denen ich gelebt habe

New Zealand, Slovakia, Switzerland