CURRENT MISSION

Backpacking solo and explore more of South East Asia!

WHERE I AM NOW

Trudging through grad school in Malaysia. I do cognitive psychology research in visual attention with EEG+eye-tracking and love every minute of it! Except maybe academic writing... >.<

ABOUT ME

Born and bred in Malaysia, i'm of Chinese descent and grew up in an amalgamation of Chinese, Malay and Indian cultures. I finished school as a (cognitive) Psychology undergrad at Dalhousie University in Canada, where i studied language, brain and behaviour,then got involved in a project developing computer games to teach a second language. Took some time off from school over the summer of 2012 to work as a research assistant in a neuroimaging lab, and saved up as much as I could so I could afford a graduation gift for myself--backpacking in Europe (albeit with a suitcase XD)! It was the most amazing experience ever and i can't wait to do it again! People fascinates me.

May-June 2013: Canada > Iceland > Germany (Frankfurt > Cologne > Hamburg > Berlin) > Poland (Warsaw > Krakow) > Hungary (Budapest) > Czech Republic (Prague) > Malaysia

Sept-Oct 2013: Toronto > Kingston > Ottawa > Montreal > Quebec City > Moncton > Halifax

May 2014: Singapore > Malacca > Kuala Lumpur > Penang > Singapore

July 2014: Impromptu 4-day trip to Hong Kong

Mar-April 2015: (2 weeks in Northern Italy) Rome > Venice > Florence > Siena > San Gimignano > Pisa > Rome

Dec 2015-Jan 2016: Malaysia > Amsterdam > Canada > Amsterdam > Malaysia

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I surf and travel with CSers. Don't have a place of my own for now, but i'd definitely offer my couch to fellow CSers when i do :)

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

On a whim, went on a day trip and hitch-hiked with a CSer who was in town. Surfed for the first time with a good friend in Charlottetown, and then 2 years later with another friend in Germany. Had one of the most amazing road trips with 3 fellow CSers i got to know in Iceland and later went solo in Poland, Hungary and Czech Republic in May of 2013. Also met one of my closest friends in Halifax through CS 2 years ago. Life wouldn't be the same without her!

Interests

Am somewhat of a (out and proud ;)) geek. I love science fiction, science (non-fiction), reading, hiking and a good conversation :) A lab nerd who spends way too much time in the basement (where the lab is), i am absolutely in love with scientific research and all the frustration that comes along with it. These days i've been spending a lot more time with my family because life is short and they're too awesome not to hangout with!

I also suspect i've been nature-deprived as a child, growing up in the city, because these days breathing in fresh air and stepping on barely maintained trails in the woods lifts my spirits up right away. Makes it SO GODAMN hard to leave Halifax.

• writing
• perfumes
• reading
• traveling
• hiking
• backpacking
• psychology
• science
• hitchhiking
• road trips

Music, Movies, and Books

(Some of my favourite films, in no particular order) The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Fight Club, The Machinist, Léon, Fifty Dead Men Walking, Apollo 13, V For Vendetta, Star Wars, Taxi Driver, The Usual Suspects, Twelve Monkeys, The Pianist, Memento, In Bruges, Blade Runner, Die Fälscher, Se7en, Mysterious Skin, Dead Poets Society etc. I love sci-fi and psychological thrillers genres, among others.

Growing up, i read a lot of sci-fi novels, as well as mystery and thrillers, and am a huge fan of post-apocalyptic/dystopian science fiction. Lately with school and all, it's been a challenge to find time for leisure reading, but i try to squeeze in some non-fictions here and there. Bill Bryson is hilarious.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Coming from an over-protective Asian family, i'd say hitch-hiking in Nova Scotia with a fellow CSer was quite an adventure! Also, road trip in Iceland with crazy CSers to see the glaciers and taking in the breathtaking scenery along the way was a pretty amazing experience :)

Teach, Learn, Share

I speak both English and Mandarin Chinese reasonably well, if anyone's interested in picking up some basic Chinese. I'd love to learn a new language, and am always getting people around me who speak a foreign language to teach me useful phrases ;)

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Malaysia, Poland, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, Malaysia, Singapore

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