CURRENT MISSION

To explore the world, to explore life, to learn, to grow, to create, to give, to share my experiences with others, to celebrate all the wonderful things in the world no matter how small or big, and celebrate the differences among people.

ABOUT ME

Spent most of my life frozen in the Minnesota tundra, eventually defrosted and moved to the east coast (New York City and Boston) and also spent a couple of wonderful years in Geneva and Amsterdam. Currently based in Berlin. Love the arts: dance, photography, film, music, and visual art. I am very simple to please: a nice coffee/tea with good company and conversation makes me quite happy.

PHILOSOPHY

I don’t have a specific philosophy, but continue to be open to the world and feel that I know so very little and have much to learn from others regardless of their age or background.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Occasionally I can host, but usually only on the weekends and holidays.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

It is a great way to meet interesting people, share experiences, and get the insights of seeing a town/city.

Interests

Film, art, photography, dance (dance theater, dance film, contact improvisation, swing, salsa, argentine tango, folk, contra, cajun/zydeco), conversation, music, theater, hiking, discovering people, seeing the little flowers that bloom from the cracks in the sidewalks, picnics anywhere, walking and dancing in the rain, climbing trees, learning, catching a falling leaf, finding an unusual stone on the sand, the moment.

• arts
• theater
• photography
• dancing
• tango
• coffee
• walking
• flowers
• music
• live music
• hiking
• camping
• basketball
• rock climbing
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

Cinema: Wong Kar Wai, Kristof Kieslowski, Eric Rohmer, Michael Winterbottom, Lars Von Trier, Kurosawa, Antonioni (Blow Up), Leos Carax, Truffaut (Jules and Jim), Godard (Contempt, Pierrot le fou), Beineix (Betty Blue), Dziga Vertov (Man with Camera), DV8 (Cost of Living) - dance film, Pontus Lidberg (The Rain) - dance film

Music: mostly all types especially world/folk.

Artists: Marlene Dumas, Pablo Ruiz-Picasso (the artist who used his mother's maiden name), Vanessa Beecroft, Jean Debuffet, Janine Antoni, Hilary Harkness, Shirin Neshat

Photographers: Rineke Dijkstra, Sally Mann, Peter Beard, Richard Avedon

Choreographers: James Thierree, Thomas Hauert, Trisha Brown, Anna Teresa de Keersmaeker, William Forsythe, Jiri Kylian

Books:
Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe
Journey to the End of the Night - Louis-Ferdinand Celine
Madame Bovary -€œ Gustave Flaubert
Hunger -€œ Knut Hamsun
The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
Unbearable Lightness of Being - Kundera
Acts of Worship - Yukio Mishima
Investment Biker -€œ Jim Rogers
An Anthropologist on Mars - Oliver Sacks

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Seeing a little girl of about 4 or 5 years of age give all her cash in her money pouch to a homeless man with a sign that says 'homeless, hungry, HIV positive, please help' despite the objections of her father while they were visiting NYC. This action prompted her older sister to do the same.

Skinny dipping after seeing a full moon-rise from the horizon just after the sunset while camping at a secluded beach in Kalamitsi, Greece.

Teach, Learn, Share

"See where your own energy wants to go, not where you think it should go. Do something because it feels right, not because it makes sense. Follow the spiritual impulse." Mary Hayes-Grieco

"Stay Hungry Stay Foolish" Whole Earth Catalog

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, United States