I spend a lot of my time and energy working toward social justice... that has taken many forms: LGBT rights, HIV prevention, disaster relief, sexual assualt support, working with marginalized populations, studying liberation and community psychology, organizing for workers' rights, and organizing against the Central American free trade agreement... so if that sounds extremely progressive and left-wing to you, you've got it right!

other than all those serious descriptions, I'm a crafter. I've been doing pottery since I was 14 (over 20 years!!), and I have a serious obsession with hoarding pretty papers... no, you can't use them, because I'll run out... they're meant to be hoarded :)

I'm really a social critter at heart, I love having people over; and feeding people just makes me smile. And if you can get goofy playing pictionary and cranium, I might even marry you!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Couchsurfing has been an amazing community. I joined because the idea seems like basic solidarity and hospitality to me, in the Costa Rican sense. I've also gone to events in multiple cities I've lived, because it is a great bank of amazing people that can count as friends: laid back, adventurous, off the beaten path, great combination!

for the first few years I focused on hosting people, and now as I'm more nomadic, I'm experiencing the surfing side.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Surfers I've hosted

1. Jonathan Leiss from Durham, NC, USA
2. Begonia Silva Moreno from Sonora, Mexico (by way of Canada)
3. Samantha Stone from Buffalo, NY, USA
4. Ruth MacNeille from Southfield, MI, USA
5. Ursula Sperry from Salem, OR, USA
6. Allison andd Tony from Lincoln, NE, USA
7. Eleanor from Paris, France
8. Jennifer Wallin from Kentucky, USA
9. Liz and Andrew from San Francisco, CA, USA
10. Katie and Manlio from Naples, FL, USA
11. Randall Arias from San Ramon, Costa Rica
12. Rose Grech from Portland, OR, USA
13. David Jimenez from San Jose, Costa Rica
14. Gil & Nancy Glass from Washington, DC, USA
15. Hector Gomez from San Jose, Costa Rica
16. Brett Gustafson from Chicago, IL, USA
17. Adrian and Heidi from Hobart, Australia
18. Michelle and Josh from Oakland, CA, USA
19. Becky Schwemmer from The Colony, TX, USA
20. Randall Arias from San Ramon, Costa Rica
21. Margarita from Alajuela, Costa Rica
22. Mariel from San Jose, Costa Rica
23. Francisco from San Jose, Costa Rica
24. Preethi from India
25. Rashmi from San Francisco
26. Scott and Karen from Portland

Couches I've Surfed (THANK YOU again to all!)

1. Gil & Nancy Glass from Washington, DC, USA
2. Rob and Dan from Madison, WI, USA
3. Martin & Ginette in London, UK
4. Ingmar & Tatiana in Barcelona, Spain
5. Juan & Miguel in Barcelona, Spain
6. Alan & Merce in Barcelona, Spain
7. Adam & Asia in Prague, Czech Republic
8. Andras in Budapest, Hungary
9. János & Réka in Budapest, Hungary
10. Nandor & Idliko in Budapest, Hungary
11. Vilma in Budapest, Hungary
12. Davide & Alessandra in Padova, Italy
13. Angela & Berdan in Istanbul, Turkey
14. Aleks in Istanbul, Turkey
15. Sandeepa & Chetan in Mumbai, India
16. Sumit in New Delhi, India
17. Catherine Savedra from Washington, DC, USA
18. Randall Arias from San Ramon, Costa Rica

Interests

pottery, human rights, origami, BOOOOOOOOOARD GAMES!!! mosaics, political participation, cooking, reading, talking for long hours, feeding people.

• lgbt rights
• human rights
• womens rights
• cooking
• running
• reading
• pottery
• origami
• cycling
• backpacking
• surfing
• scuba diving
• psychology
• religion

Music, Movies, and Books

the women's room, pastwatch, bel canto, anything heinlein, shogun, good will hunting, spanglish, brokeback mountain, steel magnolias, silvio rodriguez, mercedes sosa, old stevie wonder, funk, oldies

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

went across rural costa rica teaching 5th graders about condoms. exhausting, but I learned so much. not to mention having to calm down their very traditional catholic parents. :)

rode a bike naked along with 5000 other people through the streets of a major city

backpacked multiple times in 4 different continents, including a 9-month trip

played with shrimp on a scuba diving trip

trained 80 new judges in Ecuador on domestic and sexual violence.

Taught feminism to a group from 5 different continents and 6 different religions

Teach, Learn, Share

I'm pretty good at organizing spaces, especially kitchens!
I have some fun origami tricks and I can share lots of stuff about pottery and mosaics.
I also have some great tips on packing light for extended backpacking trips.
I have LOT of experience cooking in very large batches, so I could tell you about how to cook only once a month!

What I Can Share with Hosts

I love making dinner and eating together, I have a great recipe for no-knead bread, that goes beautifully with roasted tomatoes. I can teach you how to make great yogurt.

I'm great at washing dishes and being helpful.

Countries I’ve Visited

Cambodia, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nepal, Nicaragua, Panama, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, Costa Rica, United States

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