CURRENT MISSION

Coming to Boston September 11th! (flight was cheapest :-P ) through the 23rd, to check it out for potentially coming to school here next Fall.
I ended up living on Martha's Vineyard for 8 mos at 19 & actually found it to have an amazing feel to it, so from the 15th to the 18th I'm hoping to be there.

ABOUT ME

Gives a poo, loves humour, & am not bad with making people laugh either. I like full-on topics too, I think great conversation has some of everything.

PHILOSOPHY

That we are here to learn. I like to dance & laugh a lot, but I also to delve into things. The world's problems are just a matter of our evolving through them...or they're not problems at all...just lessons. Delights too.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Always been the anthropologist type, loved traveling, wanted to try all things new, diferente.
I have found & believe there is a great kind of traveler, who is giving yet maintains the balance of sharing & space for everything. Who is not afraid to get a little down in the dirt in some sense, but keeps it at least kinda organized too. An art or a tough but worthwhile balance when you can maintain it.

For more though a different kind of review, I have plenty between Google & Yelp (though Yelp 'Not Recommend's most business' reviews - so click that link below any business' entry for the full scoop!). They're for my business, 3 Moons Massage - I'm a private practice Lmt. For guests, please scroll all the way to the last two paragraphs of this section please.

My CouchSurf Experience:
Mixed I'm afraid! But since you seek the good & know it's out there, you ever tune your tuning fork & press on.
So far I've been to two meetups & stayed 6 places including a ride share with two folks. In doing so I've just barely touched on what's possible I'm sure. But while I have had some great conversation & totally civilized, cool experiences, I've also been seriously flaked & kinda skeezed (hit on) I'm afraid, in spite of a lot of careful sifting. But again to how the good is finding/evolving into - you can't give up on what you know is out there.

Below is my best summary of my experiences - both good & tricky - but unless you have a guilty or curious conscience no worries about reading all that.

So far after lot's of that careful sifting (except the 1st 2 who were set up by a friend of mine), my experiences were with:
A thoughtful, still kickin~young couple of grandparents with a gorgeous house with an amazing view of the water in Port Townsend, who we brought watermelon & wine & our own linens & easily shared a nice night with.

Another happening pair with a really cool setup on Orcas Island with tons of animals & berries & a pond, that were very mostly very kind! - made us dinner even! But afterwards via couchmail asked us to return a favor that I actually gave & initiated first, & put us up in a room that smelled strongly of mildew. If it wasn't for all that, being even extremely messy wouldn't have been more than a whimsical thing.

These I found through Carpoolworld but are on here also:
A fun Danish kid of 19 who had a lot to say, which I liked, & a mostly sweet young Chinese girl, eager to explore. They were fun & giving to talk & travel with, except she never offered any money for the rideshare; I had to ask. It fairly quickly came out that they were both quite well off, & were very pushy about when & where they wanted to go.
The last night, the girl ended up taking all of her stuff out of my tent which she'd invited herself to sleep in - not having one - (a bit understandable perhaps - culture/age), as well as my keys Out of My Purse, in the middle of the night. She'd already secured another ride at that point thankfully, & I asked the guy if he could too, which he said he had. But a girl of 20 I met through Cs the next day seemed lovely, so I'm hesitant to say all young people would be like this...though I'm sure the age diff played some role...

A 40 year old engineer I had a great conversation with on the phone who sounded most responsible & offered to put me up for 3 nights in Berkeley, only to not remember who I was a week later when the day came. He basically said he was still out of the country.
A very nice, smiley, kind of quiet tea-drinking guy originally from Russia, who came through for me in a pinch when that happened, which I was so relieved & grateful for. That experience was totally nice & normal in an oasis of a trip with a fair amount of chaos! Only except for the pretty angry cat, who will hiss & maybe even leap at you as you walk by. She liked me at first! Maybe he'll suggest the solution I thought of if you stay with him ;-) .

A very responsible-seeming, well-travelled, mostly conscientious guy who filled in one night I wasn't covered for before that.
When I arrived he rushed me up the stairs to what was basically his bedroom, though it was a Saturday night, to avoid waking a roommate he chatted with 10 minutes later. This becomes relevant in a sec.
Our conversation was nice, & he made me salad & tea, & a bed. 2 feet from which he left out a book on bondage sex on the desk. Not necessarily intentional at all, but the whole combination of the situation, him suggesting I could use his restroom but it had no door, his very muscular, powerful though decently under-stated demeanor, was giving & normal enough I felt I couldn't be so rude as to what, sleep in the car in Oakland, or find a hotel at 11:30/12/12:30 at night? Not super safe or fun options either.
He didn't do anything terrible to me at all - gave me eggs & fruit & salad & tea!, though I didn't feel sure he wouldn't as I couldn't sleep for hours with the humming of this weird loud sound system & my misgivings, even though he talked about macrobiotic dieting & world traveling & had housemates & all the rest of it. I should have said I was uncomfortable more firmly & not gone upstairs if I wasn't...but it was such a sudden moment, & I didn't quite realize how much I would feel that way, & it was a new experience. But still my fault kind of for not making whatever deal of it I needed to make. I couldn't sleep til around 3. I think I learned my lesson though. Hmm.

A kinda Burning man type guy who was nice enough to talk to, & quite generous, at first - letting a French couple & I stick around his place while he went out. However, upon staying another night w/o the French couple, he offered I sleep in his bed. When I woke the next morning after declining, I wasn't given any time to shower & asked in bed to head out w/in half an hour, though the night he kept asking why I needed to go to bed when I was on vacation. This person was over 30 years old.

As you'd imagine from the above, I'm trying to avoid experiences like these, but I'm not totally positive it won't be freaky ever again. It's a big deal having someone in/being in someone's home, as easy as it sounds to not be freaky. But I'm forever the optimist, & travel the normal way can be so expensive. My ultimate preference would be to share some funds - something in the $10-$30 range - & maybe feel a slight amount more respectful distance than some of the worse experiences I've already had. And stay with some ladies! The world being the mixed bag it is, ladies are both less available & less trusting hostesses it seems! (I see fewer listed). Anyway, I'm learning... :-) :-P

For Guests:
Welcome! Ish. I haven't done this yet & am totally nervous about it. You will be my first, & since it's just 225 sq', any guy in particular that stays will have to be extremely compatible (read: rare, & likely not under 28).
Mature yet down-earth ladies too please, who are decently fun yet reasonably tidy & organized. I am not a severe person or a big flibbertejibit either (a crazy word for flighty); I can't handle toooo much craziness. A moderate Hsp perhaps.
Also, if this is a trip w/o transport, my place is tough unless our schedules really aligned, which is tough for me, I am working through a lot of chronic pain & am often rushed, but if I speak magically to you please say hi. This just in: I lose my apt in 3-7 weeks & leaving for trip in 2 1/2 weeks so...yeah...might be too much chaos to host for awhile...
I believe in bringing my own linens when I travel (sheets & a towel), & if you do too that's a plus. I see that Cs ignores it's own question of gender for hosting, & my wording about that is missing - apparently save doesn't always work here! I live in one room, so if you're a guy & you'd like to stay, tell me what makes you a safe person.
For all, it seems very relevant but isn't asked here - what are your habits? Is your home pretty clean or messy? Do you have a particular interest in kindness & politeness towards others & 'cultural' sharing - as we all to some extent have a different 'culture', or do you like to just do as you please? I suppose you'll see what I'm getting at, & will just respond if you feel some alignment here, right? I will ask about this paragraph & want to chat about it, & I think every sensible person would. Staying in someone's home is really pretty intimate stuff - two strangers are to varying extents really depending on each other to be very cool in a time - traveling for one & not for the other! - where they're sort of in two different places but needing to coalesce with instant rapport yet spaciousness. A most beautiful thing if it can work! But let's all remember that even such a figurative one or few night "stand" can be as tough as it can be awesome w/o the right level of being relaxed yet intentional. Respecting our own space, yet that everyone is different & have something we need to teach & learn.
There is also a decent sized porch , but that's only for another month or two when it gets funky out here, again. A tent could be even put out there though I suppose! But I'll be gone again in about three weeks.

Interests

Great conversation. Physicality - dance, the outdoors, a little sport - bouldering, haven't played ultimate fris or skated much in ages, but just found/dug out my pads! Got hit in my car & been recovering from some dolores for awhile though... (dolores means pains in el espanol - spanish).

Giving a hoot - many great causes out there & I pick one/some to go at whenever I can manage it. Good work (trauma healing is my bag), art (music & again with the dance - modern, & salsa too, are my favorites), good sustenance. Food as foodie as I can get my paws (hands) on :-).

• animals
• cats
• arts
• culture
• books
• performing arts
• dancing
• causes
• dining
• cooking
• wine
• yoga
• dieting
• drinking
• reading
• traveling
• bouldering
• music
• outdoor activities
• hiking
• camping
• sports
• rock climbing
• anthropology
• business
• engineering
• carpooling

Music, Movies, and Books

Louie, Oitnb, Mad Men, Shantaram, Crouching Tiger, Emancipator, Bonobo, Gotan Project, that one bluetech, & phutureprimitive album - subconscious for the latter, old jazz, tchavolo swing for gypsy jazz, flamenco music, balmhorea, manyfingers, electro~world music, conscious hip hop, salsa hits, Olafur Arnalds & Balmorhea are faves too, samba

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I'll tell you better ones if we meet :-)
Hmm...I hitched cross country at 19 with a friend & saw gorgeous sheet lightning & fireflys in Kansas, tbc

Teach, Learn, Share

Massage, intermediate spanish - happy to speak with you however I can in that if you're learning! Random stuff...love cooking, at the risk of my own distaste against bragging, my creations are pretty much always enjoyed. Fire dancing, modern dancing, stretching, various nutritional & political pieces of knowledge, some british culture, camping hiking bouldering ultimate fris, some yoga

What I Can Share with Hosts

I like to bring something quality to imbibe, I can work on you some (yo soy Lmt - which means massage therapist), give you great self-care tips (in that realm, & I even have a psych B.S ;-)!). Even politeness I think is actually a very deep subject - to perform as well as if you discuss it as a topic, because it does require you to engage more deeply than we think. Our idea of politeness in the West esp is more sometimes just like doing no harm...

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Portugal, Saint Lucia, Spain, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Spain, United States