I grew up in Southern California, but am now a current resident of Oakland, CA. I am a UC Berkeley graduate (Go Bears!), and do some office work in the public policy sector. Regardless of my 9-5 activities, I am usually always restless to try new things and get out of the office, and have a huge love for travel and adventure. My dream job would be to work for National Geographic. Currently, I also run a self-help blog that deals with social psychology topics. I would love to be a stand-up comedian, but am unsure of how my spontaneous jokes would be a good fit for the formal stage. I play violin and have an unhealthy obsession with Indian food.

Airbnb Profile: https://www.airbnb.com/users/show/8921385

My blog (currently taking a hiatus to work on some side projects): http://mysterysquid.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nishabalaram

One of my blog posts: http://tinybuddha.com/blog/are-you-too-nice-how-to-be-kind-and-be-good-to-yourself/

Submission on the Race Card project: http://theracecardproject.com/indian-dad-european-mom-identified-latina/

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I've traveled using both hotels AND Airbnb, and am really interested in being a part of this community. I have seen a lot of people on here who are really interested in meeting others and fostering a community (plus, they seem really fun!), and I really just want to get out in the world and make new friends. You never know what you'll learn and take away from an experience.

Interests

Hiking/Backpacking, writing/editing, camping, wine and beer tasting, actually just tasting alcohol in general, eating too much but being really proud of it, board games and card games, photography, poetry, accomplishing some of the things on my bucket list, i.e. skydiving, seeing the Northern Lights, participating in an Alaskan dog sled competition, being certified in scuba diving, making my own beer, winning a taco eating contest...

• dogs
• writing
• poetry
• photography
• dining
• wine
• indian food
• cheese
• beer
• running
• board games
• traveling
• blogging
• music
• violin
• hiking
• backpacking
• camping
• scuba diving
• skydiving
• psychology
• public policy

Music, Movies, and Books

Here are some of the things that I like, but at the moment I feel like I am not doing myself justice: Lord of the Rings ( the books, movies and music). Celtic music, Nickel Creek, indie folk, smooth R&B, Indian sitar, open to any type of music really, anything created by Tamora Pierce or Mercedes Lackey, Naruto, Harry Potter (the books), The Big Bang Theory, vlogbrothers, Anthony Bourdain, etc.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

This should impress you...

Peanut butter + nacho cheese Doritos = tastes like hummus. Trust me, it's good. ;)

Teach, Learn, Share

~ Could teach you some Spanish phrases?
~ Could share some good music ?
~I am also down to edit someone's documents/reports/papers! I really enjoy proper grammar. ?!?. . ., ., **&^

What I Can Share with Hosts

A bottle of wine from Napa, a dinner out on me, some jokes, some laughs (hopefully)

Countries I’ve Visited

India, Malaysia, Singapore