CURRENT MISSION

to learn through traveling, meeting people, being mindful and happy, and writing

ABOUT ME

I have studied International Development and African American & African Studies in Chicago, Columbus and Nairobi. Truly learning about those around me is most important in life--right now I do this by working for refugees and immigrants in Columbus, Ohio, by reading voraciously and by asking questions of those I see and meet. I am a long distance runner and creative writer, doing marathons, ultramarathons, poems, or any mixture of those.

Eventually (2013 sometime) I'll be going to graduate school to further my official studies, though my education is continuous! Traveling, music, books, films, food, people and PEOPLE! are the best teachers.

PHILOSOPHY

Studying, traveling, and working throughout the world, and really getting to know people everywhere I go are really important to me. I like finding connections between people and the world, especially through poetry, running, and spirituality. I'm making time to fit everything into life. Not sleeping really helps, as does being happy. Being happy and connected with other people just makes life meaningful.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I have surfed on two continents, and plan to do so in a third (North America) when I finally get to a road trip out west. I am unable to host at the moment, but I love meeting up with travelers, talking, eating, and showing them around the city of Columbus. From my own experience as a traveler, this is the best way to discover a city--meet all the CS people possible, since they all come with a different perspective on a city!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

create your own visited country map
or check our Venice travel guide

Interests

Coffee roasting, running, reading, writing (letters), discovering new places near me and around the world

• writing
• books
• poetry
• education
• dining
• coffee
• running
• movies
• reading
• traveling
• socializing
• music
• teaching
• tourism

Music, Movies, and Books

Some movies are Brick, Goodbye Dragon Inn, Abouna, Paradise Now, The Day I Became a Woman, and anything my brother throws my way.

I particularly enjoy listening to J Period and K'Naan's mixtape "The Messengers," as well as Liam Finn, Iron & Wine, THe Black Keys, George Harrison, Los Campesinos!, The Veils, Ratatat, Jeff Buckley, Cloud Cult, Sigur Ros, and Broken Social Scene. Anything that is thoughtful and goofy sounding. Recently, Fela Kuti has taken over my listening life.

Barring complications of time and space, the best collaborations would most definitely be that of Fela Kuti and The Black Keys, and a separate one of The Doors and The Veils. Trust me, it would work.

Authors I read all the time are Sherman Alexie, Zadie Smith and Tim Wise. I really enjoy Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Teju Cole. Born to Run (McDougall), and Living Buddha, Living Christ (Thich Nhat Hanh) are two incredible books. I'm trying to make time to read more Ngugi wa Thiong'o and the people in Kwani? and African Cities Reader.

Gwen Frostic has done with poetry and art similar to what I want to do. She's amazing.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I have found the similarity between people I have met and gotten to know in both the upcounty of Kenya and the Italian Alps amazing. Their demeanor, friendliness, hospitality, and thoughtfulness are both unprecedented and remarkably similar, despite apparent cultural differences, and the language gap I had in both situations. The areas in which both live are also crazy amazing.

I've got travel stories spilling out of my ears--let's talk about yours and mine in person. That's always better than tapping them out to cyberspace!

Teach, Learn, Share

I would like to begin sharing my writing, which I seldom do, while learning how to improve my skill. I need to learn more about international development through peoples' personal experiences. I'll teach anyone about creative running if they can teach me more about music.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, Ethiopia, Germany, Italy, Malawi, Rwanda, Sudan, Switzerland, Tanzania, Uganda

Countries I’ve Lived In

Kenya, United States

•