Vanessa Markgraf

United States

Superstar Traveller

I was fortunate enough to grow up surrounded by people from different cultures, and given that my mom is an immigrant, we all ended up sharing our languages, foods, ands cultures. I remember watching K-pop with my friends while eating oxtail. Or watching a telenovela as one of my friends did henna on my hand.

As I’ve gotten older, I have some my best to continue learning about different cultures through food, historical reading, and just by meeting new people. I have lived in 6 different states, Puerto Rico, and Peru! I am fluent in English and Spanish, moderately fluent in ASL, and am currently learning Italian and Japanese!

I often joke that my life has been filled with “side quests” because I have worked in so many different fields—bartender, nursing home activities coordinator, caving instructor, bridal makeup artist, bank teller, and more. I am very excited at the prospect of sharing these skills in exchange for a place to stay while traveling.