**Update Spring/Summer 2016 - we are living on campus at Patrick's work and cannot host guests, and then we are expecting a baby in August! So we will probably not be hosts for a while. However, we are so happy to email with folks looking for St. Louis info***

Hi everyone--Cristina has been a CSer for quite a few years, and Patrick has recently gotten on board (we married in early June 2013). We honeymooned in Ireland and Italy, and we met some amazing CSers! Thanks to all of you for helping to make our trip so special. Some of our best memories are from our stays with you.

We're both St. Louis transplants, and really love it here. Some things to know about us if you want to stay with us or you are thinking about hosting us: we are not big partiers or super late-night people. Cristina especially thrives on 7-8 hours of sleep, especially when gearing up for a full day of travel/sight seeing! We enjoy a bottle or two of beer and a glass or two of wine, but not too much more than that. Our interest lies in great conversations, bars and restaurants with great food/beer and atmospheres, live music, cooking delicious food, running and exercising and beautiful natural scenery.

Cristina has not had a couch available for several years because of roommates and in DC she worked (and lived) in a transitional home for homeless women and was not allowed to have overnight guests, but we now have the space to host! Please read the couch section carefully, and if you're requesting to surf, please write a personalized message so that we know you read our profile.

Please note, we have two cats! They are very friendly :).

PHILOSOPHY

Peace in oneself, peace in the world. -Thich Nhat Hanh

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

From Cristina: It's a beautiful concept, and we have only met the nicest of people. I have mainly surfed because of my living situations up to this point being non-host friendly, but also met up with people in the the various cities I've lived in to welcome them when I didn't have a couch to loan (NYC, DC, etc). In DC there is a very active CS community and I met some nice people at happy hours and other events.

Cristina had a wonderful experience with CS while living in Costa Rica for 2 months. She met fantastic people there. And nearly 7 years ago she couchsurfed with some lovely folks here in Saint Louis when she came to visit Wash U for the first time! Epitome of Midwestern hospitality.

Interests

Buddhism, meditation, Thich Nach Hahn, theater, music, running, delicious healthy food, green living, hiking, the ocean, people, reading, poetry

• cats
• poetry
• theater
• dining
• cooking
• wine
• beer
• exercise
• running
• meditation
• happy hour
• reading
• traveling
• knitting
• music
• live music
• hiking
• buddhist
• languages
• sightseeing

Music, Movies, and Books

Books:

Patrick loves Theology and Philosophy. Big fan of Nietzsche and Thomas Merton.

Both of us love Pema Chodron and Thich Nhat Hanh.

Cristina loves fiction novels.

Music: jazz, blues, latin, folk, singer/songwriter, Mr. Scruff, Bonobo, and more!

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

From Cristina: In my former life I was a musical theater actress. I had a gig with the Kennendy Center which was a national tour of a children's musical. I got to see the country by van for 7 months while performing in a show for kiddos--I got paid to see places I'd never seen before while doing my favorite thing! I saw the Grand Canyon, Lake Tahoe, the Alamo, Vegas, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and tons of other places. It was incredible!

Teach, Learn, Share

Cristina is a knitter and is always happy to teach people how to knit. Patrick speaks French, some German and some Spanish, and likes to practice his languages.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Humor, conversation, a listening ear, a homemade dinner...

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, Canada, Costa Rica, El Salvador, France, Haiti, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, United Kingdom, Zambia

Countries I’ve Lived In

United Kingdom, United States, Zimbabwe

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