Butoh Dancer. Performer. Artist. Thinker.

I've been traveling solo since I was 18 when I took time off from school for a year, and serendipitous meetings and connections on the road remain some of my favorite things.

More about me...

There's always discrepancies between the way I view myself and the way others view me. But, if there's one thing that's true, it's that I'm always changing and growing :-)

I grew up in a Taiwanese teahouse, then immigrated to Canada at 6 years old. Since then I've returned to Taipei, studied and worked in the U.S., lived in Beijing for a bout. I am temporarily nomadic, having lived in Portland, OR to complete my Master's in Psychology. I am currently chasing my dream of exploring movement, dance, and performance these few months before I decide where I will live next.

PHILOSOPHY

Be kind. Be true. Be happy. Love and let love
Don't let fear and inhibitions dictate your life
Celebrate Mind, Heart, Spirit, and Body
Let go the ego
Show through actions, rather than preach
Everyone deserves happiness
I believe in the power of living your true mind & heart, I love encouraging you and also receiving encouragement :)
"Do-be-do-be-do!" :)
Increasingly I am exploring the power of awareness, tenderness, and compassion, as a much needed antidote and balance to more dominant and aggressive ways of being.

Of course I also have my ups and downs like everyone.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I have surfed and attended meetings in different places. Hosted a couple of times too in my home city, and met up with some travelers when I couldn't host. Occasionally I ask/give advice on the message boards.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Surfing experiences in most countries I've visited. CS meetups in Madrid, Granada, Lisbon, Moscow. Hosted a couple of times in my home city, Taipei, and met up with some individuals. Am currently open to hosting in Paris.

In the past, instead of using couchsurfing, for which I need to use internet and plan ahead for, I have stayed with friendly strangers who quickly become friends (always careful to trust my intuition, here). This is before smartphones... Remember that time, folks??

I would gladly extend my home freely this way too if I lived on my own, or lived with others of the same mentality. I have done this a few times in Morocco, Russia, and China. In Mongolia, I stayed in friendly people's yurt homes, or camped near people's yurts with permission. This was when my bank account was blocked. A blessing that was in disguise, because I only ended up having a wilder adventure.

Interests

I like learning about what drives people.

Dance, movement, stillness explorations. I'm also starting to get interested in martial arts. So much so that I want to stay at a remote mountain somewhere in China and study with a Master someday.

Visual Arts, Performance Arts, Literature, Music, Tea, Cooking, The Wilderness, Meditation, Mindfulness practice, the Dharma, Writing, all forms of Creative Pursuits. I like to savor subtleties and nuances, in taste, in touch, texture, movement, stillness. I am sensitive which sometimes makes life more difficult but I also believe it is one of my greatest assets as a dancer and artist.

Music, Movies, and Books

There are so many great artists out there, many of which I have yet to discover...these are only a few of my favourites: Most writings by Audre Lorde, Fourth Uncle on the Mountain (memoir of a Vietnamese Barefoot Doctor Quang Van Nguyen compiled by Marjorie Pivar) Paulo Coelho, Neil Gaiman (especially the Sandman series), poetry and short stories by Rabindranath Tagore, Joseph Heller's Catch 22, James Herriot's All Things Bright and Beautiful and All Creatures Great and Small.

I most recently finished reading Larry Yang's Awakening Together: The Spiritual Practice of Inclusivity, which was very impactful and healing for me. I am very interested and invested in the art of cultivating spaces and community that are truly inclusive of different cultures, class backgrounds, racial constructs, gender identities, and this is one of the most touching books I've read on the subject.

I don't watch movies as often as many of my friends, so don't know so many...but I do love a good movie..a few I've enjoyed in the past include: movies by Ang Lee, Before Sunset, Shawshank Redemption, Inception (though I feel it's a bit of a rip-off of Paprika), Edward Scissorhands, movies by Hayao Miyazaki, Let the Bullets Fly, I Not Stupid, Departures (this is such a beautiful, beautiful film - it is one of my favorites recommended), Cherry Blossoms (a Japanese-German collaboration) etc...I love to see independent films, plays, animations, and many other expressions of word and movement.

I enjoy music from many genres...mostly depends on whether I feel some sort of connection to the individual piece, and my mood. Most of the time I listen to quite mellow stuff.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Staying a month in a Buddhist monastery in Southern Taiwan, and being introduced to a ¨monastic lifestyle¨. Within it was a one-week meditation retreat in which all types of communication was discouraged. Honestly one of the best experiences of my life - I gained so much insight into Buddhist philosophy and customs, and part of my own culture that I'd been estranged from, growing up away from Taiwan. Through meditation I also discovered many things about my own nature, as well as the body and mind's innate power to heal itself.

Walking across Spain via the northern coastline: Camino del Norte to Santiago starting in Irun turning inwards at Villaviciosa into the Camino Primitivo, and the Camino Finisterre after reaching Santiago. The scenery was breathtaking, mountains and sea almost everyday. Kicking my shoes off to walk along the beach, blistered feet but such a light & free spirit, I discovered my own courage for traveling solo at 18 on this trip.
06.10.2010-15.11.2010

Attending a traditional Berber wedding in Aoufouss! It was exceptional, seeing the traditional dancing and celebration with drums and singing, eating couscous and tagine with everyone, seeing the bride covered in henna, joining in with the women to dance Berber style even though it was slightly embarassing for me because I couldn't rock my bum like the Berber do. All of it happened by chance when I became friends with a girl who worked in a hotel in Merzouga and she invited me home to stay with her family in a village 3 km from the center of Aoufouss. The highlight was probably seeing a woman in the middle of the celebration dancing with a heavy suitcase on her head, amidst all the traditional garb, which I later realized contained presents for the bride, based on what they were singing/chanting in Berber.

Climbing a construction crane in Oulu, Finland, sleeping up there, and watching the sunrise in the early morning. Only thing I can say is beautiful and amazing.

Meeting an otgun (female shaman) near Lake Hovsgol, who upon hearing that I was interested in studying religion, invited me to stay with her youngest daughter, also an otgun. I was incredibly lucky as that night she held a shaman ceremony. It was really authentic, and more than a little scary. Woke up the next day with the heaviest headache of my life.

Hitch hiking in different places, I am always pleasantly reminded of the many kind people in the world. In 2012 I returned from one of the biggest challenges I've set for myself - to hitch hike all the way home to Taiwan from Europe. One of the highlights was when I was heading towards the Gobi desert with 4 other people on the same motorbike! I really wish now that I had gotten a picture. It was such a wondrous wondrous adventure.

Blasting through Vietnam in the winter on a small and loud Honda 67 motorbike, up and down mountains, by the coast, through tiny villages..Stopped one night in the jungle and got offered a possible opportunity to come back and do ethnographic recording of the local indigenous people. Sure wish I'd followed up on that!!

Thatching Hale (traditional Hawaiian thatch roof building) on the first day of the New Year with a local Hawaiian crew. I was hitch hiking and got picked up by a kind older gentleman who offered me a lace to stay in Hana when I eventually reached there. Not until later did I find out he is actually a renowned Hale thatcher and traditional buildings and walls reconstructionist in Hawaii. I got taken in and spent New Year's Eve with the family, and built house with them the next day. A great fortune for the start of a new year!

First day I arrived in Bordeaux, I got locked in a garden when it closed...I had to climb the tall gate to get out. Good thing I like climbing all sorts of things and have had lots of practice!

Teach, Learn, Share

I am a savvy and experienced solo female traveler. I have a lot of experience with hitch hiking and couchsurfing informally as well as through this platform. If you are a woman who has big dreams to travel solo but have fears, feel free to ask me all about traveling solo. I would love to encourage you and give you tips. I'm also always game to swap stories with other savvy travelers!

I used to lead a meditation group, I can teach you the basics of right posture and approach in the Chan (Zen) method as well as some nature-based approaches and mindful movement. I'm all about bringing in more mindfulness to each aspect of our daily lives.

As I grew up in a Taiwanese teahouse, I can share my love, appreciation, and knowledge of Taiwanese teas, including high mountain oolongs and red teas. I am currently traveling with my tea set. I'm always happy to share 茶道 (the Chinese art and philosophy of tea) with those truly interested.

I love learning new languages. I would love to practice French, Spanish, or Russian with you, or the local language of wherever I am.
I'd love to cook together a local dish and savor it together... homemade meals are the best meals.

As part of my movement explorations I have been getting more and more interested in martial arts. I have a little experience with Tai Chi but not much else. If you're a mover or martial artist, I'd love to learn from you how you cultivate your body.

How and why people do what they do always intrigue me greatly. Please talk to me about something you are truly passionate about ;)

What I Can Share with Hosts

Conversation. Taiwanese/Chinese tea ceremony, lots of travel stories. I can teach you about meditation and some simple body exercises for wellness.

Countries I’ve Visited

Cambodia, Canada, China, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Italy, Macedonia, Mongolia, Morocco, Portugal, Russian Federation, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United States, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, China, Taiwan, United States

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