CURRENT MISSION

Building up my small massage therapy empire (just kidding - it's just a small business, but I love learning and I keep dreaming up bigger ways to help people be healthier and families happier...next, the WORLD!!!), eliminate my debts and excessive baggage of all kinds, and save up for my next big move in life, to manifest the partner or partners of my dreams, to travel together and begin living close to nature and then embark on the adventure of parenthood!

ABOUT ME

I grew up traveling and have lived in 5 different countries, but they were all before I graduated college. I'm often told I'm a free spirit, but I also come with some experiences that have grounded me a bit. Although it's been a long journey for me spiritually through many challenges and changes (My bachelor's degree was in Biblical Studies and Ancient Greek ~although I don't know how "fluent" I really am anymore, CS; pretty rusty...) but I really am fluent in Melanesian Pidgin English, or Tok Pisin, from having lived in Papua New Guinea for a while as a kid, although it's not in the list CS provides now. My family still lives all over; from Illinois to New Hampshire, to London, to China, we're a traveling kind of people. I'm hoping to live abroad again in my life, or at least visit a few more places I haven't been, and to be sure my child or children grow up appreciating the world, and participating in many cultures, and feel they are also citizens of the world.

I'm a plant-based eater, a burst-out-in-songer, and a love-to-meet-and-host-people-from-all-over-er. I love to grow what food I can myself, and generally do my best to have a low impact on the environment with my life choices (which will include raising a child in a way that models this and inspires them to also improve the world), and love healthy raw foods but also have a vegan junk food sweet tooth sometimes. I love hanging out with eclectic, intelligent friends, trying new things, learning, sharing, and continually seeking to improve myself. I firmly believe "You must be the change you wish to see in the world," so I do my best to live it! I own a small, independent massage therapy studio and dream of one day expanding into a holistic health retreat center where I live, work, and grow my own food and family, preferably somewhere that's basically perfect, like Hawaii, the west coast of the US, New Mexico, or anywhere in another country. :)

Currently, I'm living back in IL near family but also spent 9 years of my adult life in Phoenix. I've got two cats and an apartment with enough space to share. There's currently only a couch for you to sleep on, or the carpeted floor of my back room which is kind of cozy and private, with slanted ceilings (middle is maybe 6 ft high?) and two skylights, so you could even stargaze or vent the room, although there's also air conditioning and heating . My cats are friendly but can be shut out of that room if you wish. I'll make sure you have a pillow or two, sheets, blankets, and towels to use.

PHILOSOPHY

In general, I figure the purpose of my life is to enjoy life and to help others. I believe each of us are in a process of personal awakening into greater consciousness and awareness, and together we are choosing the path of our own evolution. You won't have to talk philosophy with me very long before I'll probably want to talk about compassion and the ethics of eating; how what happens to our food before it reaches our plates should really probably align with our highest values in order for us to really get somewhere.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I have hosted many times, which was always fun, and couchsurfed with while on vacation in San Diego and several times during a trip through SE Canada, and while traveling in Ireland and the UK as well as around my own area of the US. I love the philosophy behind this site. I've had a profile for ages: https://www.couchsurfing.com/users/1015489/profile/legacy

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

A couple times during college when I needed a place to stay between dorms and apartments, I was "the girl on the couch" for a couple weeks. Plus the experiences mentioned in the "how I participate" section. When I was a kid, I lived at a remote jungle hospital mission station where we regularly hosted visitors, so I find it pretty similar to my lifestyle growing up as an MK. Hospitality is the oldest ethical code, and it's important for our humanity to offer it to other people instead of living in fear of them.

Interests

alternative energy, art, environmentalism, Unitarian Universalism or other similar life-affirming communities, community supported agriculture, creativity, Lovecraftian fiction, egalitarian society, handmade stuff, holistic health, organic food, painting, collage, post-apocalyptic fiction, sci-fi, self-improvement and spiritual growth non-fiction, steampunk, sustainability, things that are fabulous, theme parties, game nights, and lots of other things.

• animals
• cats
• arts
• singing
• dancing
• dining
• cooking
• recipes
• vegetarian
• vegan
• organic food
• yoga
• massage therapy
• partying
• gardening
• reading
• traveling
• hiking
• buddhist
• agriculture
• spirituality
• sustainability
• relaxing
• science fiction
• bicycling
• family
• religions
• humanism
• alternative energy
• spiritual growth
• earthships
• archetecture

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: Amelie, Angels in America, An Inconvenient Truth, Anne of Green Gables, The Emperor's New Groove, The Last Unicorn, Little Miss Sunshine, The Phantom of the Opera, The Princess Bride, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Sense and Sensibility, Serenity, 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Gods Must Be Crazy... I'm just naming classics, really. I don't watch much in the way of tv (I haven't owned one for maybe 10 years, although I have sometimes watched Netflix) and sometimes I go see new movies, and usually enjoy them.

Music: Alanis Morissette, The Beatles, Beats Antique, Ben Folds, Bjørk, Cher, Coldplay, Corinne Bailey Rae, Dave Matthews Band, Enya, Florence and the Machine, Kongos, Mergence, Moby, Modest Mouse, Nahko and Medicine for the People, Norah Jones, P!nk, Radiohead, Regina Spektor, Rising Appalachia, Sarah Brightman, Satsang, Scissor Sisters, Sigur Ròs, Trevor Hall

Books: 1984, The Alchemist, Call of Cthulhu, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, The Beauty Myth, Garbage Land, The Last Unicorn, Lolita, Myst, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose, The Prophet, The Red Tent, A Scanner Darkly, Tao te Ching, Valis, A Wrinkle in Time

Really too many to list, but I gave it a shot to give you an idea and find something you might relate to in there. Let's chat more in an interactive way!

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

My semester (4 months) spent living in Israel was a pretty amazing thing for me. It was amazing to be somewhere so OLD and sacred to so many simultaneously.

Other amazing moments that come to mind are the week I spent out in a remote village in the jungle of Papua New Guinea and looked up at the sky to see the entire Milky Way glowing so brightly- it was totally surreal, and another night in Wadi Rum Jordan, lying in the sand and looking up at the night sky full of stars, and an afternoon spent meditating and journaling while sitting on the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland overlooking the ocean.

That's more than one thing. I'm not good at rules.

Teach, Learn, Share

I enjoy cooking, gardening, sewing, and other crafty things and can teach you how to do a basic east coast swing dance or reattach a button to your clothes, or prepare a nice, chewy seitan Wellington, or a tasty gluten-free vegan dish, or how to do some cool massage techniques.
I'm interested in all types of learning; maybe you can teach me something new about sustainability or other environmental issues, or teach me how to weld or paint something better, or or some other cool skill. Or teach me some language and culture stuff that you know!

What I Can Share with Hosts

I'll happily cook a meal or wash your dishes or give you a mini Thai Yoga massage to thank you for hosting me when I travel! It's like a full-body stretch, combined with passive yoga and is very relaxing- just requires flexible clothing and a soft place on the ground. :) I also can do animal massage if you'd like some relief for a pet with arthritis or something like that. I've also got good stories and enjoy conversation or taking a walk together if you've got time.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Canada, Egypt, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Mexico, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Papua New Guinea, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, Swaziland, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Israel, Papua New Guinea, South Africa, Swaziland, United States

•