I’m an artist, linguist, and educator who is passionate about making a positive difference every day. I’m originally from the humble U.S. Midwest but have lived abroad for a while— including West Africa (2 years) and currently Taiwan (1+ year). I’m now back as a CS host to help out fellow travelers!

>>> N’hésite pas à me contacter en français.
>>> No dudes en contactarme en español.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Make meaningful connections and friendships, help out my fellow travelers, and expand my global network

Interests

• classical music
• piano
• tennis
• psychology
• language exchange
• personal development
• cultural anthropology
• sustainable development
• creative writing
• global health
• postcolonial studies
• sociolinguistics
• ethnomusicology

Music, Movies, and Books

— Music —

+ Maurice Ravel
+ Sufjan Stevens
+ Amadou & Mariam
+ Regina Spektor
+ Owen Pallett
+ J.S. Bach
+ Bill Evans

— Films —

+ 3 Idiots (2009)
+ Princess Mononoke (1997)
+ El Laberinto del Fauno (2006)
+ Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959)
+ Arrival (2016)

— Books —

+ Le Petit Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)
+ The Artist’s Way (Julia Cameron)
+ Blankets (Craig Thompson)
+ Never Let Me Go (Kazuo Ishiguro)
+ A Thousand Splendid Suns (Khaled Hosseini)
+ The Art of Travel (Alain de Botton)

— Series —

+ Avatar: The Last Airbender
+ Attack on Titan
+ Dark
+ Gran Hotel
+ Heartstopper
+ Twin Peaks

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

To reference “Everything, Everywhere, All At Once”— I aspire to master the art of multi-verse jumping.

Here are a few scenes from my life:

+ got arrested in West Africa while conducting a research project and presented my thesis at an international conference six months later

+ performed a public solo piano concert of some of my favorite composers (Chopin, Bartok, Debussy, Beethoven, Bach)

+ prepared and sat for a very difficult medical school admissions … and then decided I would rather spend my life traveling the world :P

+ worked on farms across South America where I also learned how to grow mushrooms (the legal kind)

+ had a one-hour phone conversation with a stranger that saved their life

+ taught students from all over the world from ages 5 to 85

+ climbed Kilimanjaro with very little prior training and survived my asthma attack at the summit :0

+ studied a language that most people haven’t ever heard of, and spent a few days in the village where it’s spoken

+ started a travel blog that, in spite of its imperfections, I’m proud of :)

Teach, Learn, Share

Travel Knowledge : I don’t consider myself a local by any means, but being an expat means I’ve figured out a thing or two about living in multiple countries (and if I haven’t yet, I know who to ask and/or where to find it)! Feel free to ask questions about your journey for any of the places I’ve lived :)

Music / Arts : I’m a classically-trained pianist who’s recently started experimenting with jazz and other global styles. If you also play an instrument or love music, let's make some music or go see a local concert. I’m also an aspiring creative writer/blogger, so I’d love share ideas.

Language Exchange : I’m a qualified English teacher and lifelong language learner who believes language is essential to understanding other cultures . If you know one of the languages I’ve listed above (and are willing to be patient with me), feel free to reach out ! My main focus is Mandarin Chinese, and to a lesser extent, maintaining my French and Spanish.

Conversation : I prefer to skip the small talk if possible and get into topics that really make us passionate, curious, and self-reflective (#infj ). For me, a really good conversation is where we both leave feeling like we’ve learned something about ourselves, each other, and the world.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Austria, Benin, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Côte d'Ivoire, Ecuador, France, Germany, Guinea, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Macao, Malaysia, Morocco, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Rwanda, Senegal, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Zimbabwe

Countries I’ve Lived In

Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Taiwan, United States