Hello, I'm Jane and I'm back to couchsurfing after a 10+ year hiatus! I started couchsurfing when I was a refugee student in Austria after Hurricane Katrina in 2006. I traveled all over Europe, staying with amazing hosts and making lifelong friends. In 2008, I graduated university and moved to teach ESL in South Korea, here I hosted people who were walking and biking around the world! In 2012, I moved to Prague and hosted many friendly travelers. In 2026, I returned to couchsurfing (with my partner Benja [https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/redwagonrider]) to open up our home to friendly travelers.

ABOUT ME

I'm a born, raised, multi-gen New Orleanian. I grew up in an amazing and complex culture, I love to share all about it! Presently I work as a fulltime artist from home in my sewing studio. Sometimes I'm very busy but I'm always happy to wiggle around deadlines to hang out and show off New Orleans. I love music and dancing, especially partner dancing (cajun, zydeco, country two-step, and swing, but willing to learn more steps!). In the past I played accordion for over 20 years, but these days I do not have much time for it.. however it's always my intention to play more!

I love gardening and keep a large food-focused backyard garden, I garden 365 days a year and love eating and preparing meals. I have a lovely lady black cat (her name is Pawpaw), she is very helpful and oversees all aspects of our home and garden.

As a world traveler, I've slowed down a lot since my 20-30s, but still plan to see more places. I travel to Los Angeles often for work, and to OR/WA to visit friends and family. Benja and I dream of driving to the artic ocean and doing many more cross country travels in our '92 Japanese silly van. We're both adventurous souls who love dreaming up the next trip :) and we can't wait to hear about yours too!

I study 4 languages daily: french, spanish, korean, and chinese. French is my closest to a 2nd language, I can communicate at ~B2 level. I'm not good at languages, but I love them anyway :) I don't mind sounding stupid lol.

I'm also a dedicated reader, I generally complete over 50 books a year. I read all genres and love recommendations.

ABOUT OUR COUCH

We're located within New Orleans, but in a quiet and peaceful historic neighborhood: Holy Cross. There's not much excitement over here, but it is beautiful, safe-ish, and lovely to walk in and hear the sounds of the river. You can get to the bars and things to do on St Claude easily, it's about a 10-20 minute walk to the closest bars/restaurants/art galleries or a 5-10min drive. There's a bus line 4 blocks away that can bring you straight to the French Quarter and connect you to other parts of town. Uber is a little expensive from here, expect to pay at least $15-22 per trip, sometimes more late at night and during surge pricing. We are not in the rental Blue Bike zone, the closest Blue Bike is about a 10 minute walk and you have to leave your bike on the other side of the canal otherwise you will get charged extra.

If you decide to stay with me and Benja, you'll have a private bedroom with a private toilet and sink. We share the shower/tub in the 2nd bathroom. There's a door that separates the guest area and my studio from the other side of the house, this door must remain open/cracked otherwise the cat will lose her mind! Behind the guest room is the laundry, plant nursery, and tool room, however we can access this via the back porch and likewise, you can access the kitchen via the back porch so we never have to walk through each other's sleeping space.

Notes:
-Our house is up a full flight of stairs, on the 2nd floor.
-There's a mini-split unit in your room so you can control the climate.
-We are in the process of renovating, so the guest bath is a little rough but it functions.
-We have downstairs neighbors, so please keep loud times to the shared living room or front porch.
-We have a large food garden.
-We have a friendly cat that is inside/outside, she has her own door. She's usually well behaved but can also be a little annoying :)
-We're super friendly and would love to hang out a little/get to know you. We are NOT looking for "more than friends"
-No smoking/vaping inside.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I started Couchsurfing while studying as a refugee student in Europe after Hurricane Katrina. I never would have been able to travel as much as I have without the kind and welcoming community of CS. It's been so sad to watch AirBnB monetize off of CS's concept and become the dominate platform for hosting. Using CS, in my opinion, is a small act of rebellion. I'm prioritizing community and connection over money. I genuinely love meeting other travelers who are open to these sort of experiences.

Interests

I work as an artist, my main medium is textiles and sewing. I also design and create immersive experiences for cell phones. I garden every day and pet every cat I run into. Before being an artist, I was a teacher and world traveler. I love practicing and learning new languages. I cook most meals at home, using fresh ingredients.

• arts
• culture
• tattoos
• gardening
• politics
• reading
• traveling
• music
• hiking
• adventure races
• cartography
• history
• science
• social science
• sociology
• sewing
• accordion

Music, Movies, and Books

My personal tastes are a bit eccentric but I like most things.

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Austria, Bahamas, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Canada, Cayman Islands, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kosovo, Laos, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Austria, Canada, Czech Republic, South Korea, United States

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