Hi everyone! My name is Avery Mickalide and I hail from rural Maine. I was in academia, but through earning the degree I discovered that academia is not for me so for now I am traveling to figure out what I want do next in my life. My first stop was to volunteer at an intentional community on a mountain in New Mexico. I really want to use my science knowledge for Earth healing, like reforestation. I love to play and listen to music. And I think I might be an empath!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I would like to meet people and stay in interesting places and then, once I settle down, return the favor. I am interested in traveling super frugally as well.

Interests

• animals
• meditation
• music
• ecology
• physics
• science
• forests
• musica
• healing
• love
• consciousness
• healing arts
• earth
• earthing

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: The Mars Volta, Willow Smith, Pink Floyd, Muse, Low Leaf, Jimi Hendrix, maudlinoftheWell, Miho Hatori, John Coltrane, Hieroglyphics, Grizzly Bear, Built to Spill, Baroness

Movies and TV: The Big Lebowski, The Matrix, Slacker, This is Spinal Tap, Community

Authors: Douglas Hofstadter, David Foster Wallace, Nnedi Okorafor, George R. R. Martin, Ursula K. Le Guin, Marion Zimmer Bradley

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I don't want to harp on it, but earning the PhD was really hard for me. There were some experiments that required I do focused lab work every single day for 3 straight weeks and the first time I did one of those experiments I exhausted myself so thoroughly that I got really sick and I thought had mono. It took everything I had, but I did it, and, well, I'm glad it's over! LOL

Teach, Learn, Share

Let's see, I can teach guitar playing, how to make music in Garageband, and meditation and also math and physics if anyone's interested.

I am hungry to learn just about anything, but just to give some specifics of things I would like to learn about: Spanish, Hindi, history, cooking, and gardening.

I have one recipe that I have perfected and I would be happy to share it. It is mustard roasted potatoes and onions. I am also happy to cook with whatever ingredients are available. I'm not a masterful artist, but I can usually whip up some kind of art with materials that are lying around.

Countries I’ve Visited

Ecuador, France, Taiwan

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States