CURRENT MISSION

always ready to hop blindfolded onto a train, to share an umbrella with a stranger, and to say "yes" more often than "no"

ABOUT ME

This will tell you something about me: One of the reasons I have put off using couch-surfing for several years (since opening my account), is that I dreaded completing the "all about you" section. Pretty dismal excuse, huh?! I think I have an irrational fear of falsely presenting myself in 500 words or less. I also get a bit nervous in the face of limitless textboxes, as I have a tendency to fill any free space with words...if there's no limit to how much I can write...might I simply keep writing forever, and be stuck at this computer for the rest of my life, missing the opportunities that ought to be presented by filling in this little textbox in the first place!? Gosh, this is a worrisome existence! Perhaps I'll share a few adjectives and alliterations: rosy rambler, willy-nilly wanderer, impulsive investigator, surreptitiously silly, endowed with a ceaselessly curious and healthy appetite. I like to sit beneath large trees and doze off with the branches going blurry above me. And I like non-sequiters.

PHILOSOPHY

be the good.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Though I initiated my foray in the CS world a few years ago, I am just getting my feet wet now. I hope to become more involved as a surfer, host and group member as the days become months become years.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

To date, my "CouchSurfing" experiences have all been off the "CouchSurfing" network, that is, prior to my induction into the "CouchSurfing" family. The most memorable are always the least expected. There was the day a few friends and I were picked up by a brash Zambian caterer as we walked between Namibia and Zambia. We were practically kidnapped off the side of the road, with such force did she insist we come home with her. Lucky for us, we agreed, for we found ourselves in a lovely abode overlooking the Zambezi River, just shy of Victoria Falls...that was a good day:)

Interests

This could easily be a very long list, as one of my interests is verbosity. However, for the sake of brevity, I'll summarize: involving food: making and eating; involving motion: going places and doing things; involving intellect: thinking and creating; involving feelings: being happy. Specifically: vegetables, public transportation, bicycles, tea-time, baking, reading, knitting, trees, seeing something and thinking to myself, "I can make that," then going home and making it, not just seeing different places in the world, but really being there, long lists of interests, making flow-charts, cartwheeling and being barefoot.

• writing
• dining
• recipes
• baking
• reading
• crochet
• knitting
• surfing

Music, Movies, and Books

I like to watch foreign language films without the subtitles and pretend that I understand them. I also like to watch foreign language films with the subtitles and actually understand them. I have not met a Jim Jarmusch film that I didn't like, nor a Kurt Vonnegut book that did not tickle my fancy. Isabelle Allende and Milan Kundera fall into that category, as well. I recently discovered the poetry of Dylan Thomas, and I've been thoroughly swept away. As far as music goes, I could not pick a favorite, but the past few months I've been listening to a lot of Johnny Cash, the Fleet Foxes, Neko Case, Modest Mouse and the buddhist chanting mantra music that is constantly playing around temples that have become tourist attractions. om mani padme hum, indeed.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I once sat in what should have been the shadow of Everest (but it was a cold, cloudy and rainy day), and learned how to crochet from a woman who spoke no English but had the kindest eyes and brightest smile of any person who I've ever met.

Teach, Learn, Share

I am accumulating favorite "comfort food" recipes, so if you have a doozy you'd like to share, I'd be more than happy to learn! Also, I could teach you my favorite, as well:)

Countries I’ve Visited

India, Namibia, Nepal, Tanzania, Zambia

Countries I’ve Lived In

South Africa, United States

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