I grew up in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio, where I spent my childhood. I took a gap year in Belgium as an exchange student after graduating from high school. After I made friends all around the world as an exchange student, I became even more interested in learning about other cultures. I took my first solo trip backpacking in Europe for about 3 weeks one summer in college. I learned a lot about travel (and myself) on that trip. Those three weeks transformed me from a shy, timid person into someone more open to new people and initiating conversations.
I spent my last semester of college studying abroad in Rennes, France. A year after graduating, I left on the adventure of my life to Chengdu, China as an ESL teacher. Even though China was so different from anything I had experienced, I loved the opportunity to learn new things each day when living abroad.
I’m always on the hunt for a great chai latte and coffee shop. I enjoy hiking, reading, and improv theater. I rarely order the same thing twice – I love trying new things, especially new foods! I’m also obsessed with researching random topics and often find myself down a rabbit hole in the early hours of the morning.