My two passports are legally obligatory travel documents. They say very little about who I am.

I spent the first 2 years of my life in Singapore and Sumatra. 5 years in Bahrain, 3 years in Japan, 1 year in California, 4 years in Sweden, 4 years in Holland, 4 years in England, 2 years in Washington, D.C. Then I went to live and work in Germany. Got married and had kids while I was there.

Although I know that this list of places appears again at the end of this profile, I mention it here because all this moving around really has determined my personality. I have no 'Heimat' so it's my work and the people I spend time with who make my 'life' meaningful - or not!.

Went back to Uni (Tübingen) when our youngest started school, retrained as an assyriologist. Have excavated in France, Germany, Jordan and Syria. Worked in Emar/Meskene in north central Syria until you-know-when.

Since then I have switched back to theatre. Eventually I want to do something theatrical with the Ancient Near East.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I like to learn about other ways of doing things. Maybe your ideas are better than mine? Give every individual at least 10 minutes. It's amazing how much you can learn from a conversation with a stranger.

I have only hosted so far. And yet, a cultural adventurist? Well, as an archaeologist / assyriologist I have slept in some fascinating places! My most recent escapades: two winters of three months each teaching English in a Thai village. And I was the only European in the village! So much fun I went back to the same place.

Interests

My biggest interest is understanding how other minds and societies function. That's why I'm an archaeologist and that is also the thing I pursue in my theatre work . I have published stuff on this topic as well.

I'm not very musical, but my husband and our daughter are both basses - he sings and she strums. Amazing, for engineers.

Sports... hmmm. Used to play a lot of lacrosse, hockey and tennis. Some running competitions.... have reduced to nordic walking and and swimming lately!

However - I have recently developed a fascinating new hobby - the 'analysis' of ancient recipes: Elizabethan, Early American settlers, Provincial Roman, Old Babylonian, 'Syrian' Early Bronze Age, Anatolian Neolithic ...

I also do a lot of what my Sicilian uncle called Italian gymnastics ... sleep.

• acting
• archeology
• teaching and producing theatre
• exotic cuisine

Music, Movies, and Books

At the moment - Thomas Hardy!!! Also D.H. Lawrence. Today, these books are real cultural adventures! Other favourites: Tahir Shah, Michael Crighton, Rafik Schami, Salman Rushdie.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Walked in one flip-flop and a very short nightdress (and really, nothing else) through a rubber tree plantation to the police station in a Thai village at one o'clock in the morning.

Teach, Learn, Share

Intercultural communication, of course. But I can also teach you how to learn a language quickly and cook like an archaeologist.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I'd love to talk to you about the cultural differences in all the various places we have been to. I can tell you about my experiences in the places I have lived in. I could even invite you onto a bus with me for a guided tour of your town!

Countries I’ve Visited

Antigua and Barbuda, Austria, Barbados, Belgium, China, Cyprus, Denmark, Greece, India, Italy, Jamaica, Jordan, Kuwait, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Martinique, Monaco, Morocco, Portugal, Saint Lucia, Spain, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, United States, Vatican City State, Venezuela

Countries I’ve Lived In

Bahrain, France, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Netherlands, Singapore, Sweden, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States

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