CURRENT MISSION

Saving the lifeworld from human consumption. Keeping curiosity alive. Fostering humor.

ABOUT ME

I'm a single mother of 2 great teenagers who would like to travel more to write the kinds of stories I want to write. I'm very curious, I'm not fastidious, I've traveled all over the world, from Madagascar to China to Mexico to Europe, sometimes for work and sometimes for the hell of it. I can eat anything and sleep almost anywhere; as far as my own place, it's across the street from Lake Superior, the largest lake in the world, and is in a gorgeous old industrial city where bears and deer walk the streets.

PHILOSOPHY

I think that maybe the reason people exist, if there is a reason, which I often doubt, is in order to really see and know and understand -- and praise -- the living world. That's it, I guess--but this is a feeling that has to survive a fair dose of cynicism, so I'm not as starry-eyed as this might make me seem. I also believe in humor.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I've hosted the valiant couchsurfers who make it all the way to this out-of-the-way place and much enjoyed their presence. I sent off for the verification postcard, but when it arrived, my computer was on the fritz; then when it was fixed I'd lost the card! But I tried, right? The program is one I believe in.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

For a period of time in my twenties, several years, I didn't really have a regular home, and traveled around the US and Canada picking up work and staying with people I met. As I mentioned above, I've hosted several couchsurfers, and also hosted the car of one of them (I gave it a home here while he flew out of the airport). I hope to do more couchsurfing as my travel increases.

Interests

I'm interested in the natural world, and in what people use art and language for.

• arts
• writing
• cooking
• baking
• traveling
• kayaking
• snorkeling

Music, Movies, and Books

Easier to find ones I'm not interested in! I like a lot of things, I love James Joyce, I've recently read David Mitchell's great "Cloud Atlas," I love the poems of Cesar Vallejo and Pablo Neruda as well as William Carlos Williams and Rimbaud and Baudelaire and Mallarme; I love reading Alfred Doblin and Kleist; I love all kinds of art from Anselm Kiefer and Clemente to cave paintings and Romanesque sculpture. Music is wonderful, I play piano (not very well) and flute (a bit better) and particularly love playing Satie and Beethoven; I listen to everything from El Cigale to Moby to James Brown to Colin Carr's recording of Bach's solo Cello Suites. Movies-- don't get me started.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

ok it's trite, but my kids--they've made me human. They are wonderful and they teach me all the time. Kayaking on Lake Superior, snorkeling in the Caribbean. Those are truly amazing. Otherworldly.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach: art, writing, bread-baking. I would like to learn: better language skills (esp in French, German, Spanish), cooking of various cuisines--and whatever else comes up.

Countries I’ve Visited

China, France, Germany, Madagascar, Mexico, Norway, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States

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