CURRENT MISSION

I want to give back to the community. Couchsurfing has allowed me to live some of the most memorable experiences during my travels, and I want to make it possible for other travelers too.

ABOUT ME

I've always loved traveling and reading. They are both activities that help you discover new worlds, right? Naturally curious about everything (even science if you can put it in small bites :D ).
I am an American English teacher and a published author. I wrote a guidebook on how to use Couchsurfing (back when the website was very different), and a cultural profile of the city of my heart, San Francisco.
Most of all I am a reader, because I really believe in the power of the written word to make the world a better place (idealistic, I know).

PHILOSOPHY

"Traveling - it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller."
- Ibn Battuta

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I really enjoy meeting people when I am traveling around the world: I like the idea of having potential friends anywhere. I have stopped hosting for a bit because I have a lot of students coming and going from home, but I can't wait to start hosting again as soon as I have an extra room for my guests.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I used Couchsurfing for the first time on my first big train trip around the world, on the Trans-Siberian railways and then on Amtrak's trains in the USA. That trip was truly life-defining for me. And I'll never forget all the people that I met along the way, many of them through Couchsurfing. I've been using it ever since. Starting in 2014, I sometimes travel with my husband, who's a great Couchsurfer too. We've been on the greatest adventures together - including traveling on the Silk Road from Uzbekistan to Beijing for our honeymoon.
I also wrote a guidebook about traveling with Couchsurfing (here: http://bit.ly/1xQWuIa ).

Interests

Love: traveling by train, learning new languages, discovering new things, eating spicy food (and a few other unhealthy things), going to the gym, running, horseback riding, cars, reading about everything, spending hours in any bookstore/library at home or around the world, drinking coffee while watching a good TV show, enjoying life with friends, exchanging life stories
Hate: big loud crowded places, misconceptions, fish in any shape and color, ignorance, people who think they are so much better than anyone else.

• books
• dining
• coffee
• running
• drinking
• reading
• tv
• traveling
• cars
• socializing
• equestrian
• languages
• trains

Music, Movies, and Books

too many books to list here - I'm always reading 20 books simultaneously...right now, particularly interested in non-fiction: American studies, geopolitics, history, social and cultural histories, religions.
Movies - anything except horror and sci-fi (I just don't get it).

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I traveled on all of Amtrak's long distance trains in America. Got my bones broken by a particularly violent Chinese masseuse in the industrial district in Tianjin where I used to live, got robbed in Spain, hit on in Egypt (who hasn't?), worked with the homeless population in San Francisco, watched the sunset from a sacred monkey temple in Bali, had a few great experiences on the Trans-Siberian railway and in any state served by Amtrak or Greyhound in the US, witnessed a shopping session of sexy nurse costumes in Iran. Traveled along the Silk Road for our honeymoon.

Teach, Learn, Share

I'd love to learn whatever you can teach me.
As far as the teaching goes, well, I can teach you anything about the wonderful and fascinating world of making books. And cheesecake.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Something good to drink and quite a few travel stories from the time I circled the world by train.

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Armenia, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, China, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Jamaica, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Montenegro, Netherlands, Russian Federation, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Scotland, Serbia, Slovenia, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Uzbekistan

Countries I’ve Lived In

China, Italy, United States

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