I am an all around creative, but also someone with the desire to help people. So I practice social work for a living, and am working towards becoming a therapist. But I am also a writer and a visual artist with ten years of studio training. Uh, yeah. All of that!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I have always had a special interest in Scottish and Irish culture, especially the Highland way of life. It's been a long-standing goal of mine to spend a summer learning about how the Gaelic-speaking communities in the Hebrides live.

I think that I have more cultural humility than the average person.

My interest in Scotland and Celtic culture may have started out in fantasy, but that is not where it stayed (and isn't that what matters?) It has only grown out into something more real as I've gotten older. And I don't see any sign of that stopping.

Which brings me to the reason why I am couchsurfing.

These days, my interests are virtually inseparable from writing. I would like to spend this July doing research around Scotland for a book I am writing. Sounds impractical and improbable, and it is both these things. But I say you need to be a little bit mad to pursue anything creative- and even madder to take yourself seriously!

This summer I plan to travel to Stornoway, to other more rural parts of Lewis, and then on to the Isle of Skye. It would be a wonderful experience to stay with a host family in Lewis and live how they live for a while, as if I was one of them. The experience of attending a church, hearing a sermon on Gaelic would be something I would cherish. I don't know if this is possible but it is something I would remember for a long time.

Interests

• cultural immersion
• novels
• creative writing
• celtic culture
• gaelic immersion

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: There is a very post-punk, goth side to my musical DNA. Dead can Dance, Sisters of Mercy, Claire Voyant, Delirium, Switchblade Symphony, Amanda Palmer, Nine Inch Nails, All About Eve, Unto Ashes, Hildegarde of Bingen, Gregorian chant. I like anything ethereal, and with a lot of aching for the divine union. Yeah. A whole lot of that.

I also enjoy enigmatic singer-songwriter types like Fiona Apple, Kate Bush, Tori Amos, Damien Rice.

Celtic folk music is the only thing that will make me move when I am tired. An Irish ceilidh band is my pumping club track. I once took ecstasy and all it made me do was walk down the street singing Scottish folk ballads...Yep, that's me!

Books: I'm reading contemporary Scottish novels right now for the book I'm writing. Think Trainspotting, Lanark, Morvern Callar, And The Land Lay Still, The Trick Is To Keep Breathing, books by Kevin MacNeil. He is my influential writer of the moment. He said if anyone wanted to know something, but him a pint and he'll tell you all about it. I took him seriously. I still am. Is that bad?!

I think that fantasy and sci-fi books and movies (especially Lord Of The Rings and books by Haruki Murakami) are something that is missing from my life. If you think you are able to fill this void, than I would be ever-grateful.

I would love to have more time to watch movies! To me, they are like being able to read a whole novel in just over an hour. So in other words, they are a fantasy come to life.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Rode across the length of Scotland on a motorbike with a great man- someone I'll never forget.

Sometimes we went 100 mph.

Yes- he was Scottish. ;)

What I Can Share with Hosts

Stories, friendship, inspiration, and cultural exchange from a young (ISH) New York-area woman with an appreciation for your hospitality. Please know that I value my connection with you as you are local, and know much more than I could.

The same friend mentioned above once said I had the heart of a country girl. I think that may been the final strand that completed the riff in my lifeline. I looked at my palm and was sure I saw a little splinter's width of a shift.

Countries I’ve Visited

Belize, England, France, Guatemala, Iceland, Italy, Mexico, Scotland, Wales

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States