Hey!

My name is Nicole and I am a recent grad from Western Washington University (Bellingham, WA) and have been studying and traveling for the past six and a half months in New Zealand, Fiji, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Malaysia. I hope to continue exploring and adventuring before having to really "settle down."
Raised in Edmonds, WA, with my two sisters, two parents and many many pets! My second home is Alaska, where most of my extended family lives and my heritage comes from.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

After hearing many great things about Couchsurfing I hope to try it out for myself either in my home country or wherever else I travel to!

Interests

I studied Environmental Studies, Anthropology, and American Indian Studies at WWU and am passionate about our planet and want to do my part to reduce my ecological footprint, which may mean less plane travel. My other great passion and love in life are animals. I love animals, especially dogs! I am also interested in photography, volleyball, eating delicious food, hiking, reading, occasional Netflix bingeing, camping, music festivals and finding new ways to reduce my impact on this earth.
One more thing, Tim's Cascade Jalapeño chips are my life!

• animals
• pets
• cats
• dogs
• culture
• photography
• music festivals
• festivals
• dining
• movies
• reading
• tv
• traveling
• restoration
• music
• hiking
• camping
• volleyball
• anthropology
• business
• ecology
• environmental studies

Music, Movies, and Books

Lana Del Rey, Odesza, Of Monsters of Men, Lorde, The Black Keys, Franz Ferdinand, Alt-J, Shovels and Rope, Shakey Graves, Bahamas, Enya, Eminem, Kid Cudi....dependent upon mood.

Star Wars, Avatar, The Matrix trilogy, Interstellar, Gone with the Wind, X-Men, Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Underworld, Pitch Perfect, Pineapple Express, Silver Linings Playbook, The Hunger Games........

I like strong female protagonists, large series and female authors in the Science fiction/fantasy/romance genres. Laurell K. Hamilton is my favorite author.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Completed five field school programs over 6 years that have all changed my life and made me who I am today and set the path that I want to take in life. My most recent being in New Zealand for 4 months; studying ecology and biogeography, restoration ecology and ecosystem management, environmental policy, planning and sustainability, Maori culture, language and making lifelong friends and memories exploring New Zealand.

Teach, Learn, Share

Always willing to learn new things, explore new places, and share my culture and interests.

What I Can Share with Hosts

My love of Jalapeño chips, ability to stop and love each dog, cat, animal I come across, knowledge of my Alaskan heritage and culture, my experiences travelling the world, "surviving" Catholic school K-12, vast knowledge of multiple TV shows or movies I love, my thoughts on our current environmental crisis, over population, women's rights and most importantly, all I know about domestic dogs after wanting to be one as a kid, working in two kennels and starting my own pet sitting business when I was 18.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, Denmark, Fiji, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Laos, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom, Viet Nam