CURRENT MISSION

teach the world the difference between a violin and a fiddle!

ABOUT ME

"This is me in a nutshell: Help, I'm in a nutshell! Get me out of this bloody great big nutshell!"
-Mike Myers

I'm Sarah. I take everything seriously, especially having fun. I'm a busker, a hitch-hiker and an honour student. I graduated from University two years ago, and now I'm teaching English and learning Chinese in Taiwan! I'm obsessed with maps and big ideas. Being on a stage doesn't scare me; sitting in the audience and watching someone else have all the fun does. I learned to sail and teach others to sail in a landlocked province. Now I live on a Canadian island in the Pacific Ocean, and I do my best to convince myself I should have been here all along. Hablo español, aprendo francés, portugués, y chino, y quiero aprender hablar más idiomas. I think about thinking about thinking about thinking. If possible I avoid wearing shoes. I strongly dislike televangelists, but I like messing with telemarketers to brighten their days and mine. I would like to inform the world that a violin and a fiddle are the same instrument, but not the same style. A penny I save now is a penny I can spend traveling later. I want to go to a lot of crazy places and see a lot of crazy things. At this point after all, I'd be crazy not to be crazy.

PHILOSOPHY

Work hard, play hard. Sleep when you're dead. You'll get out of life what you put into it, so throw yourself, hard, into everything you love.

Don't wait for circumstances to make you happy. Instead, become the kind of person that can be happy in any circumstance.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Someone wrote me a reference saying that I represent the spirit of couchsurfing; I took this as a huge compliment! It has become an inherent part of my lifestyle--if I'm at home I want to open my doors for hosting, and if I'm traveling, well, I sure never want to stay in a hotel again after all the amazing experiences couchsurfing has brought me! Remember when your parents used to say not to talk to strangers? What your parents don't know won't hurt 'em ;-)

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I got my start with CS in New Zealand back in 2011. Then I drove across Canada in 2012 and didn't pay 1 cent for accommodation. Then I backpacked Europe alone for 4 months in 2014 and CS was my lifeline the entire time. I'm now making my way around Asia. I have met so many great people (and saved so much money!) I have hosted in both Victoria and Calgary. Highlights include jamming at a beach fire until 3AM after a square dance in Victoria, climbing in red oceanside caves in P.E.I., taking a traditional Maori bath in NZ, watching a Pink Floyd concert for free from a rooftop near Wrigley Field in Chicago, teaching the Portuguese how to play North American drinking games, getting a free tour of Madrid on a Vespa, learning to make paella, practicing my Spanish tons, experiencing Carnival in three different cities in Europe (Nice, Lucerne, and Venice), and chilling on a rooftop with a view of Kuala Lumpur at night. All thanks to CS! And one of my favourite things to do is re-meet people I've surfed with or hosted in the past, years later in future travels =)

Interests

Playing the fiddle (Bluegrass, Old Time and Irish), sailing!, scuba diving, water skiing, surfing, skiing, snowboarding, piano, guitar, literature, learning languages, reading, writing, spirituality, discovering new indie music. oh, and travel

I don't watch TV or play any video games. more of the music and the great outdoors and less of the screen-time for me...

• writing
• literature
• concerts
• dancing
• beer
• drinking
• drinking games
• video games
• reading
• tv
• traveling
• eating out
• socializing
• music
• guitar
• piano
• violin
• outdoor activities
• hiking
• backpacking
• surfing
• scuba diving
• sailing
• skiing
• snowboarding
• rock climbing
• cartography
• languages
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

If you like any of the following bands, we are instant friends. Let's go on a road trip and listen to them 24/7. These days I'm getting into tons of country and bluegrass, as well as my indie go-tos.

Lotus Child Flatt & Scruggs The Zolas The Head and the Heart Dispatch Said the Whale Sea Wolf Bill Monroe Hey Ocean! Death Cab for Cutie Christopher Ho Tony Rice Sufjan Stevens Red Hot Chili Peppers The Be Good Tanyas Yonder Mountain String Band Bright Eyes Henry and the Nightcrawlers Bon Iver Current Swell Elliot Smith Library Voices Blue Rodeo Fleet Foxes The Sweet Lowdown Mark Knopfler Freelance Whales Alan Jackson Metric Chris Thile The Ruffled Feathers The Doors Vampire Weekend Corb Lund Mumford & Sons State Radio Doves The Veils City and Colour The Stowaways Bedouin Soundclash Steve Miller Band Dierks Bentley Tom Frager & Gwayav' Zac Brown Band The Shins Led Zeppelin Simon & Garfunkel Chris Thile The Dudes The Beatles Maná Eric Clapton Jack Johnson Pearl Jam Woody Guthrie Sarah McLachlan Coldplay Of Monsters and Men The Wood Brothers

I also was an English major, so if you want to nerd out with me and talk about literature, I'm especially interested in the Renaissance and the works of John Milton, and literary theory (Derrida, etc...)

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Touring the cooperative mines in Potosí, Bolivia. This is hell on earth. Please, please, please, wake up every morning and be thankful for everything your life is, because you don't work here.

Also, I went along for the ride with my friends' bluegrass band when they went on tour in the B.C. Gulf Islands--on sailboats! It was pretty much paradise: two weeks of chilling on boats and small islands with good company, good music, good weather, and plenty of beer.

Teach, Learn, Share

No matter what size of backpack you choose, and what amount of time you allow for packing, you will fill them both! Therefore, choose a small bag, pack fast and travel light.

and, don't ever ever ever get caught without earplugs.

Countries I’ve Visited

Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, El Salvador, France, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Ireland, Italy, Laos, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Monaco, Myanmar, Netherlands, New Zealand, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Vatican City State, Viet Nam, Virgin Islands, British

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Taiwan

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