I can occupy an energetic, enthusiastic space or a contemplative, listening space. Laughter, play, and exploration are my greatest expressions. I strive to always be open-minded, nonjudgmental, and loving. My free time is spent hiking, reading, drawing, and connecting with those I love. It's my wish to see the beauty in all that is sincere in this world.

PHILOSOPHY

"I hold this to be the highest task for a bond between two people: that each protects the solitude of the other."
― Rainer Maria Rilke

" It is possible I never learned the names of birds in order to discover the bird of peace, the bird of paradise, the bird of the soul, the bird of desire. It may be I have not learned dates in history in order to reach the essence of timelessness. It may be I never learned geography the better to map my own routes and discover my own lands. The unknown was my compass. The unknown was my encyclopedia. The unnamed was my science and progress."

" Understanding is not a piercing of the mystery, but an acceptance of it, a living blissfully with it, in it, through and by it."

-- Anaïs Nin

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Enjoy the connection that comes in sharing space with new friends while traveling.

Interests

Outdoor activities of all sorts

I like sitting in quiet spaces with those I love, learning more about their lives, what they think and value.

Music, Movies, and Books

Being Mortal, Cutting for Stone, Siddhartha, Chicken with Plums, Mountains Beyond Mountains, Interpreter of Maladies, Emperor of all Maladies, Burma Chronicles, Fun House, Persepolis, The Art of Being, Four Agreements, Glass Castle, Born a Crime, Through the Dark Wood, Eragon, David Whyte, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Anaïs Nin, Susan Sontag, Between the World and Me -- Ta-Nehisi Coates

Classical guitar, Classical Indian/Chinese, Radiohead, Brad Mehldau, Natalia Lafourcade

The Intouchables, American Beauty, Searching For Sugar Man, Fried Green Tomatoes, Chocolat, Henry and June, Léon: The Professional, Midnight in Paris, Futurama

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Climbing Mt Fuji. Dancing in Shangri-la. Singing amazing grace with travelers under the stars with a giant fire in Atacama Desert. Silent retreat. Seeing a beautiful grey whale swimming underneath our boat and dolphins splashing next to me. Supporting women during the catastrophic emotional turmoil of day-to-day life activities.

Teach, Learn, Share

How the auditory, occipital, and olfactory systems work.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Good conversations, walks together, good food, laughs.

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, Canada, Chile, China, France, Germany, Israel, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

China, Israel, United States