I hope that you are healthy and happy right now.
(in this in-between moment between the past and the future.)

CURRENT MISSION
To create and learn. To think and reason. To laugh.

This is not my mission, but I am wasting less of your time
if you know these two things before reading the whole profile:
1) If I am traveling, it can take me a while to respond to requests
(as I am sometimes out of internet range or don't have time to look at email.)
2) If possible, Please bring your own sheets and towels
for stays shorter than 3 days. Thank you.

ABOUT ME
I run a women's journaling group in Galveston (which started more than 18 years ago).

I enjoy organic gardening and am more content outdoors than indoors
(although Galveston summers leave one praising the comfort of air-conditioning….)

For most of my life, my feet, bicycles, and public transportation have been how I get around.
(I got my first car when I was 42.)

I learned how to hula hoop when I was nearly 40....

At home and on the road, I am an artist, writer, and mother.
I also volunteer in my community and in countries around the world.

After the shocking results of 2016 American election
(and then the reality gradually sinking in), I have ebbed and flowed
between intense political activity and emotional exhaustion.

PHILOSOPHY
It takes years (perhaps a lifetime) to understand oneself;
even longer than that to understand another human being.
I find the attempts (at both) worthwhile.

Warum ich bei Couchsurfing bin

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING
Galveston is a beach town so I host most of the time.

When necessary, often with hilarious results,
we have used google translate to communicate.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE
In Germany, my family and I arrived at a host's doorstep
only to find out he knew my sister!!! (small world).

My sons and I slept on tatami mats in Kyoto, Japan.
There, we seized the chance to visit the Kokedera (Moss Temple).

We enjoyed a most wonderful afternoon of tea
and stories at the home of an octogenarian host in Tokyo.

Staying with Chiaki in Tokyo
was a highlight of an Oct. 2018 trip!

Interessen

sunrise walks on the beach, yoga, bicycles, art, gardening, writing, travel, learning, teaching, intercultural experiences. (political activism in response to the 2016 US election)

• arts
• writing
• theater
• dining
• cooking
• organic food
• yoga
• running
• gardening
• traveling
• volunteer work
• painting
• drawing
• volunteering
• beaches
• mountains
• outdoors
• sharing stories
• outdoor adventures

Musik, Filme und Bücher

I enjoy acoustic more than electric sound (music in which I can distinguish lyrics). Blues, jazz, folk, country, and rock - it’s all good. A cappella can be hauntingly beautiful.

Taking suggestions from my (20 something) boys, I watch a variety of films (rarely at the theater). I like movies with a story and believable development of the characters.

I appreciate when non-fiction books weave a story into their delivery (as in “The Beak of the Finch”, “The Geography of Bliss”, and “Brain Rules”).

Eine tolle Erfahrung, die ich gemacht habe

When we were in our mid 20s (and with only 3K each saved), a friend and I quit our jobs and flew off to Paris for a year-long trek, by bicycle, around Europe. We lived in a tent and carried all our supplies on bike racks and three panniers (each).

I almost had a home birth with my first child and I almost gave birth in a pool with my second child.

My family lived in Florence, Italy for 6 1/2 years. When we arrived with our 8-month old, I was completely illiterate in Italian. Our second child was born in Poggibonsi (in the province of Sienna). The currency changed from Lire to Euro while we were there.

My sons and I have volunteered with secular groups in at least 6 countries. We lived and worked side-by-side with communities (on projects they requested help with, like rebuilding a school kitchen that was destroyed by an earthquake in Peru (the water for mixing the cement had to be carried more than ½ a mile up hill, from the nearest stream, as there was no running water.)).

In 2018, my younger son and I went to Costa Rica for a monkey and turtle conservation project. We babysat newborn turtles and watched as they made their way into the ocean for the first time. Howler monkeys, who are considered the loudest land animal, would vocalize above our heads and also throw things onto the tin roof of our shelter.

Most recently (Jan '20) I volunteered on a beach conservation project in Belize. Our housing was on a remote island a half hour boat ride to the populated island (of 2000 people). We got 5 gallons of filtered rainwater per week to wash with. From 6pm-6am, we could only use the outhouse with a buddy to accompany us --for crocodile lookout.

I am in awe: when I was 20, I had never been out of the North-East of the US. Now, I have lived and traveled on 5 continents (and still plan to explore more of what this world has to offer for as long as I am able (and inspired)). There is so much in this life to be thankful for.

Lehren, lernen, teilen

From the Greyhound bus driver to the Post-doc. I believe I can learn from (almost) anyone (and everyone).

Länder, die ich besucht habe

Austria, Belgium, Canada, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Guatemala, Ireland, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Vatican City State

Länder, in denen ich gelebt habe

Italy, Spain, United States

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