CURRENT MISSION

Discover the world, provide humanitarian aid, make the world a better place, enjoy life.

ABOUT ME

I love chocolate, food, beer, wine, nice people, conversations with complete strangers, music of all kinds (i'm always looking for new types of music), dancing (all kinds--particularly swing, salsa, Senegalese dance), sunshine, sunsets, the sound of fall leaves under your feet, catching up with old friends or family, playing music, theatre, smiling at strangers, and life.

PHILOSOPHY

I love life and am generally very excited about living.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I would love to host people; however, at the moment I'm living with someone who is not comfortable with it. I look forward to more hosting in the future, I've always loved hosting! In the meantime, if someone is also just looking for a friend, wanting to go out for a coffee or a beer, or to some kind of festival or event, I love meeting people from around the world, and would be happy to show anyone around the place I happen to be living at that moment.
I also love participating in CS meetings and events and meeting up with and staying with CS members when I travel. I love to cook for/with my guests/hosts/CS friends, tour around the city with locals, show people around my digs, and share travel stories/tips/pictures etc.
I also like to spread the word about CS to people who seem like it would be their thing. I've found such joy and great relationships through it and would like to spread this to others.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I used couch surfing once with my friend in Amsterdam, and it was an amazing experience. He let us sleep there and even offered us tea in the morning.
When I was traveling through Senegal, the Gambia, and Mali, families opened up their houses for me. They gave me food, water, a place to sleep, invited me to festivals and family events, and showed me about their towns, cities, or villages. They showed such kindness, generosity, and friendship, and I hope to do the same. They expected nothing in return, and I was very touched by their openness and acceptance.
Since I joined CouchSurfing I've hosted three times and been hosted several times by amazing people. I also have been to events in France and Belgium.

Interests

I love music. I've been playing the cello since I was 8 and love playing all kinds of music. I was classically trained, but have recently been experimenting with other genres on my cello. I'm currently a member of the Dunkerque Symphony Orchestra, a quartet, and am recording for a new composer. I have been attempting to learn guitar for several years now, but have yet to make any significant progress. I used to play piano as a kid, but left it when I started the cello. I would love to start up again, but don't have access to a piano at the moment....
I also love listening to all kinds of music and sharing new music. Live concerts are also amazing.
I do stained glass art, and I really miss it, as I couldn't bring my equipment to France with me.
I also like crocheting, making earrings, meditating, yoga, reading, looking at blank walls or blue sky, daydreaming, biking, eating, cooking, baking, meeting new people, and many more things.

• arts
• books
• concerts
• festivals
• dancing
• dining
• cooking
• chocolate
• wine
• beer
• coffee
• baking
• yoga
• reading
• traveling
• socializing
• crochet
• music
• guitar
• piano
• opera
• cycling
• hiking
• camping
• surfing
• scuba diving
• languages
• hitchhiking
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, Les Fleurs du Mal de Charles Baudelaire, the Beatles, Pink Floyd, the Polyphonic Spree, the Postal Service, Maurice Ravel, Tchaicovsky, Beethoven, the Doors, Derek James, the Avett Brothers, Across the Universe, the Producers, Rent, V for Vendetta

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

participating in a Fula wedding in the Gambia, hiking through the forest in southern Senegal to bathe in a waterfall, playing the cello in the Sydney Opera House, milking cows in the foothills of the mountains between Oaxaca and Veracruz Mexico, teaching English in Senegal and in France, dancing on stage with Youssou N'Dour in the Kennedy Center (DC), playing tag in the Lincoln Monument, being a regular at the drum circles in Madrid and DC, scuba diving in Grand Cayman Island, exploring the rainforest with my family in Ecuador, camping vacations with my family in the southwestern US, meeting Barack Obama, hitchhiking through France and Germany

Teach, Learn, Share

I can share languages, food (I'm a pretty good cook!), music (what to listen to, how to play instruments), how to do stained glass, how to crochet, travel stories, thoughts on life, etc. I would love to learn more about other people's thoughts on life, must read books, must listen to music, etc.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Cayman Islands, Ecuador, Gambia, Germany, Italy, Mali, Mexico, Netherlands

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, Senegal, Spain, United Kingdom, United States

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