CURRENT MISSION

Test drive this couchsurfing experience. Seriously, for a research project.

ABOUT ME

I am a sustainability researcher at the University of Minnesota. I am a native Coloradan and I can't quite give up that affiliation even though I've been in MN for 10 years because I can actually trace my ancestry back in CO to the 1800s (not something a lot of people in CO can say). I'm also still a mountain girl by heart, even when surrounded by 10,000 lakes. I am married and we have two little kids. The kids and I love to run around barefoot because who really needs shoes...except in the snow :)

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I'm brand new to this formal CouchSurfing experience. However, during my PhD work in Tanzania I had a particularly memorable couchsurfing experience. My research assistant and I drove into a small rural Tanzania town outside of Tarangire National Park. There were no guest houses available, but not to worry my assistant knew people in the village so I spent the night sharing a full sized bed with the ward executive officer in her one room "house". I can deal with lots, but not spiders so I insisted on a bug net, which we found and put up. However, spiders weren't the issue, mice were and the moment the lights when out the mice came out. I could hear them all night (it felt like they were gnawing through the foam mattress trying to get under the bug net). I did not sleep well at all and would never like to relive that night...but it brings a smile to my face regardless.

Interests

I have two little kids so that really consumes all of my time. If I do find a moment, I love scrapbooking and reading. Back in the day (and hopefully sometime in the future) I played softball (HS and a little in college).

• running
• reading
• scrapbooking
• softball
• genealogy
• lakes

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

1) Looking down into the Ngorongoro crater in Tanzania for the first time, well any time really, it is amazingly awesome and beautiful.
2) Standing on the top of one of Colorado's 14ers (I've stood on 12 of them).
3) Seeing the night sky in places like the Australian Outback, Tanzania, or even rural Colorado. The stars are soooo brilliant.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico, Mozambique, Netherlands, Norway, Panama, Tanzania, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States