I am a (now relatively) recent graduate who studied public health and urban planning, and (one day soon) plan to go back to school for architecture. Through all of my experiences I have found that I am most interested in the idea of community and determining how/why people identify with the places and communities they do.

I am currently living in New York City, by ways of Baltimore and North Carolina. I am enjoying my time here and my exposure to the fantastic cultural and social scenes, but I'm also a huge fan of underdog places like Baltimore. If you get me going, I can talk about either place for hours.

I like culture and travel (otherwise I don't feel like I would be on this site, right?). I collect postcards from all around the world and have an extensive collection of probably over 500 postcards. I have a huge, running list of places I want to visit in the world. Since I don't have the means of visiting most of those places at this point, I live vicariously through the postcards I collect and the postcards I receive from people living in those places.

With a now full-time job with limited vacation, I relish the opportunities I'm afforded to experience new things-- from a new neighborhood restaurant in Brooklyn, to a weekend trip to New Hampshire, to a (hopefully) longer vacation somewhere else!

Sound like a good match? Let me know!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

How I participate: staying open-minded and exploring the world through traveling and not-traveling.

Couchsurfing experience: My first couchsurfing experience occurred on an overnight stay in Frankfurt, Germany on my way to Moldova. From that moment, I have been addicted to the idea and would love to do it more often. I have since rode on the back of a Vespa around the Colosseum in Rome and peeled lots of garlic with a host's mother in Doha.

Interests

-Self-awareness
-A good story
-Peanut butter and jelly + tortilla chips + a cold glass of milk
-A nice IPA
-Architecture and design

• culture
• books
• architecture
• design
• dancing
• cooking
• running
• traveling
• spelunking
• scuba diving
• bungee jumping

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: basically anything. To be honest, my music interests ultimately narrow down to what can bring me superficial pleasure based on strong beats, solid rhythms, or catchy lyrics. Most of all, I am constantly on the search to find my next best karaoke song (current standouts include: Grace Kelly, Mika; I Try, Macy Gray; It's All Coming Back to Me Now, Céline Dion).

Movies: Top 5-- Amélie, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Pan's Labyrinth, Stardust, and V for Vendetta.

Literature: A good coming of age story (Life of Pi, Perks of Being a Wallflower, Tell the Wolves I'm Home, and getting through A Little Life) and a good murder mystery (Death in the City of Light, The Devil in the White City is up next).

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I went caving in Alabama, USA and survived to tell my story. I have also been shark-cage diving, bungee jumping, and camped out under the stars in the South African bush. Sat with friends after a night out stargazing on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Asheville, NC. Skinny dipped in Halong Bay, Vietnam. That's more than one, but life is full of more than just one amazing thing worth sharing.

Teach, Learn, Share

I am still finding my own talents. If you have children, I can probably help them with their homework... I am also a beginning salsa dancer (but since I have only taken informal lessons and only practice my salsa at a weekly bluegrass jam at a local bar, my "style" (or lack of style or any sort of skill) is some sort of fusion between all sorts of things...) Anyway, I like dancing and want to learn more!

I really want to learn how to cook. I am a terrible cook and my recipe book (if I had one) would be limited to making simple spaghetti and rice dishes, and maybe chicken.

Countries I’ve Visited

Botswana, Cambodia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Germany, India, Italy, Moldova, Qatar, South Africa, Thailand, United Kingdom, Viet Nam, Zimbabwe

Countries I’ve Lived In

Italy, United States