CURRENT MISSION

bark less. wag more.

ABOUT ME

I think of myself as a quiet sort of person -- I am self-employed as a computer geek (currently doing a bunch of website re/design projects), and trained as a librarian. Friends often solicit my help with ferreting out information or making their computers behave better. I love to read, though I have trouble keeping up with the steady stream of books I request from my library. I also love to spend time with my friends, and feel very lucky to live in a warm welcoming cross-generational community.

I've played music for most of my life, starting with violin when I was 5 years old, and am currently active as a musician in several folk traditions playing 5-string fiddle and nyckelharpa. I spent the academic year 2012-13 on sabbatical from my regular life in the US to study Swedish folk music on fiddle and nyckelharpa in a tiny town in Sweden -- you can find lots of pics and stories from that adventure on my blog.

my blog in Sweden: http://tobo.lydiamusic.org /
my fiddle duo: http://lydia-andrea.com /
my web biz: http://infotamers.com

PHILOSOPHY

I believe that travel affords the most direct possible channel for teaching the vital truth that if you look deep enough, people are fundamentally alike.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

My home isn't in a big tourist-attracting area, so most of the friends I get to host come to me through other connections than CS. Well, OK, all of them so far. But it is lovely here, with small towns and rivers and trees -- come and see! Even if you're here at a time when my couch is not available, I would still love to meet up, show you around, help find local contacts.

(Note: I respond to all thoughtful direct inquiries. I do not respond to CS's innovative new mass emails re: "here are some folks looking for a host in your area.")

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have slept on quite a lot of couches over the years! Once in Belgium I was rescued by kind strangers after a series of missteps landed me in their tiny rural town long after its hostel had closed for the night.

My first adventures with the CS network were in the summer of 2010, on a trip to Scandinavia with my partner. We had a great time and met some super-awesome hosts! We loved being able to make real connections with real people, and not just see surface-level tourist-y kinds of things.

Interests

music & dancing (contradance, English Country, Scandinavian, Balkan), reading, learning, yoga, travel, making connections, textile arts (quilting, sewing, weaving, knitting, embroidery)

• arts
• books
• design
• dancing
• chocolate
• yoga
• reading
• traveling
• blogging
• knitting
• music
• folk music
• violin
• rivers

Music, Movies, and Books

Music -- forms a big part of my life. Lately the things I listen to are closely linked to the kinds of dance I am involved in, especially Swedish folk music, although I also have a solid training in classical music from what feels like a previous life. I'm happy to listen to a variety of other genres but don't collect them myself.

Books -- some ~recent nonfiction favorites:
The Emperor of Scent / Chandler Burr
The World Without Us / Alan Weisman
Stumbling on Happiness / Daniel Gilbert
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle / Barbara Kingsolver
Musicophilia / Oliver Sacks
Blink / Malcolm Gladwell

Movies -- less of an active list for me. I love any animation by Miyazaki, and have a soft spot for well-produced kids' films in general. Recently we watched a documentary series about Wild China that was fascinating. I tend not to have seen big box-office hits, but tend to enjoy esoterica.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

When, as an adult, I finally learned to speak enough Latvian to converse normally with my grandparents in their native language, I suddenly heard them for the first time with no accent whatsoever.

Teach, Learn, Share

If anything in my profile catches your eye, I'd love to share it with you further. (If not, you probably don't want either to host me or to crash here.) I'd love to learn from you as well, whatever you are feeling most compelled to share. (And if you're coming from anyplace that has great chocolate, maybe there will be space in your luggage to bring some? :)

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Latvia, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Sweden

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