CURRENT MISSION

Being in the moment. Listening deeply.

ABOUT ME

I studied education 07-08 but didn't feel ready to teach. I moved to rural Ohio to learn more how to invite the Spirit/God/Positiveness (names are so unimportant) into an educational practice without being oppressive. Tricky. My hope is to start a Quaker or alternative school in Ontario. I've worked for 20 years in the film industry (since I was 8) and try to combine my dance, drama and writing life with education as much as possible. My teaching certification was a special program called Artist in Community Education. I was one of 22 artists selected to combine their artistic and educational practices--I'm hoping this can be my lifelong practice!

PHILOSOPHY

Explore, challenge, listen, reflect, wait, sing, dance, stand still. I try to "walk cheerfully on the world" answering that which is good in every one.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I'm in rural Ohio. Let's see...I'm sure we can figure something out.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

In March 2008 I stayed in Cupertino, CA at a house with 6 technology-gods (Apple, Google and NASA employees spending their time developing the Next Utopia). Witnessed SuperHappyDevHouse (Developer rave, in a way) and from there surfed (not through this service, just good old-fashioned: Could-I-Please-Stay-With-You?) Haight-Ashbury San Francisco for 5 days. Wonderful! This is how I travelled Europe at age 16 (granted, most of it pre-arranged--though still meeting strangers with my name on a sign in train stations!). In May I surfed in Chicago for just one night, and in June was able to host 3 travelers from Florida and Finland.

Interests

Physical theatre, choreography, photography, literature, poetry, democratic education, roundtable discussions, peace activism, being part of a community, face-to-face interactions, dance, contact improv, acting, film.

• writing
• literature
• poetry
• singing
• photography
• acting
• concerts
• dancing
• swing dancing
• education
• technology
• teaching

Music, Movies, and Books

music: BEP, Outkast, Tom Waits, arcade fire, brad mehldau, rickie lee jones, Johnny Cash, Lester Young, Wanda Jackson, Steve Earl, Aimee Mann, Brad Mehldau, Cat Power, Liz Phair, Tori Amos, real blues, old jazz, most things when live and/or involving a dancefloor (wood, not strobe-lit). I enjoy silence.
authors: jeanette winterson, lynda barry, francesca lia block, anais nin, katherine mansfield, tom robbins, elizabeth inchbald, salman rushdie, zadie smith
Movies: Aimée & Jaguar, All About my Mother, Y Tu Mama Tambien, La Répétition, Storytelling, Bamboozled, The Name of the Rose, Hang 'Em High, Thirteen, House of Sand and Fog, Secretary, Best in Show

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

At the M.I.A. concert in September 2007 on Toronto Island she invited "serious dancers" onstage and we vaulted over the barriers, to the confused security attendants' chagrin, and boogied in the hot hot sun.

Teach, Learn, Share

I love this idea!
Co-learning and co-counselling are things that I want to learn more about. Also: starting a revolutionary alternative school, Reggio Emilia, Dutch language
I know a bit about: my neighborhood and city, some of the eco-projects and initiatives in Toronto; French (fluent), less so: Spanish and German; English literature; dance, contact improv, swing dancing; seeing a zany project through, coordinating workshops/events, being on a film set, film acting, organizing your stuff (that you should probably throw out), basic photography, teaching students age 6-13, Quakerism.

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