I have recently relocated to Montgomery County, Maryland. I am a first-generation graduate or Reed College with a degree in Economics, which is where my interest in creating a world with just economic system began. In particular, I'm interested in the interface between cooperative economics, economic democracy, and deep ecology. I am a musician (keyboardist and singer) and a poet hoping to find a live-in apprenticeship in gardening and/or some craft. I'm also a pacifist and a non-violent communicator. I would like to help you in whatever way that I can, and I am open-minded and tolerant with regard to the kind of work with which I would be tasked. What's most important to me is being of service, learning concrete skills, and developing secure interpersonal relationships based in reciprocity and mutual respect. In the past, lived in Portland from August 2010 through January 2016. I have also lived in France twice (Paris metro area). I speak French fluently. I have a genuine interest in learning any self-sufficiency skill my host(s) may wish to share with me. I have been a teacher, a tea host and a massage therapist to boot. I do some freelance editing work. My long-term career goal is to become an self-sufficient psychotherapist (with a focus in eco-psychology) and a ceremonial/life transitions specialist. I'd like to travel to Ireland, Norway and Denmark within the next year in the context of my studies or voluntourism interests.

PHILOSOPHY

"In order to become aware of the true condition, I commit myself beyond hope and fear."

“But the poetry of that kiss, the wonder of it, the magic that there was in life for hours after it—who can describe that? It is so easy for an Englishman to sneer at these chance collisions of human beings. To the insular cynic and the insular moralist they offer an equal opportunity. It is so easy to talk of "passing emotion," and how to forget how vivid the emotion was ere it passed. Our impulse to sneer, to forget, is at root a good one. We recognize that emotion is not enough, and that men and women are personalities capable of sustained relations, not mere opportunities for an electrical discharge. Yet we rate the impulse too highly. We do not admit that by collisions of this trivial sort the doors of heaven may be shaken open." E.M. Forster, Howards End

"When I say I hate time, Paul says
how else could we find depth
of character, or grow souls?"—Mark Doty

“Mais, finalement, j'ai mis de moi-même beaucoup plus que prévu dans ces textes : obsessions, souvenirs, déterminant inconsciemment le choix de la parole, de la scène à fixer. Et je suis sûre maintenant qu’on se découvre soi-même davantage en se projettant dans le monde extérieur que dans l'introspection du journal intime — lequel, né il y a deux siècles, n'est pas forcément éternel. Ce sont les autres, anonymes côtoyés dans le métro, les salles d'attente, qui, par l'intérêt, la colère ou la honte dont ils nous traversent, réveillent notre mémoire et nous révèlent à nous-mêmes.”—Annie Ernaux, Journal du dehors

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Currently, I'm hoping I can find a Couchsurfing opportunity in Portland as a short-term means of transitioning back into Portland life. I can do work for you!

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I came to Couchsurfing in 2012 while studying abroad in Paris. I joined groups and attended different kinds of events organized by Couchsurfers in the Paris region. I plan to do some Couchsurfing in the coming year, and depending on my living circumstances, I may also be in a position to offer my couch to others. I would be delighted to do work for you while I Couchsurf. For example, I could help tend the garden and help with household chores.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I've never couch surfed or hosted within the Couchsurfing network. I have been hosted by people in my alumni network while I was passing through some place or another. Before I went to France, for example, I visited Chicago and stayed with an alumnus from my college and his roommates, none of whom I knew beforehand. Besides those kinds of arrangements I've lived with two host families. I haven't had many opportunities to travel in recent years due to my studies and finances, so I'm looking forward to changing that in coming years. I've gone to several events organized by CouchSurfing members.

Interests

Language, writing, emotions, dancing, music, gardening, theater, cooking, eating, friendship, literature, introspection and personal growth, love, cinema, swimming, singing, music, religion, psychoanalysis, politics, economics

• writing
• literature
• poetry
• singing
• theater
• dancing
• cooking
• running
• politics
• movies
• reading
• tv
• traveling
• magic
• music
• guitar
• trumpet
• track and field
• swimming
• economics
• psychology
• religion
• parks

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Serious soul-searching that's helped me grow, or so I hope. :D

“But man is an odd, sad creature as yet, intent on pilfering the earth, and heedless of the growths within himself. He cannot be bored about psychology. He leaves it to the specialist, which is as if he should leave his dinner to be eaten by a steam-engine. He cannot be bothered to digest his own soul.” E.M. Forster, Howards End

I also wrote a 120-page thesis my senior year of college. I find that amazing in retrospect because it matters so little to me now, and I don't know where I found the motivation to work on it for an entire academic year. But there you go! I've also helped facilitate meaningful transformations in other people through my emotional labor, Tarot readings, and skill in ritual.

What I Can Share with Hosts

If you hosted me, you'd find I was clean and discretely respectful of your space. I take initiative in tidying up, washing dishes where I see them, making the bed every morning, leaving no trace. I would love to help in the garden, as I am hoping to get into herbalism. It feels good to be responsible for the upkeep of my spaces. I'm very independent and am used to taking care of myself, so I'm not likely to arrive expecting my host to figure everything out for me or to be constantly present. At the same time I'd be delighted to spend as much time as my host could hanging out and getting to know one another! Basically I'm likely to adapt myself to my host's needs and desires. :D

I'm also a good cook and a good listener.

Countries I’ve Visited

France, Netherlands, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, United States

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