CURRENT MISSION

Be happy

ABOUT ME

I am deeply grateful for all the opportunities I've had in this world. There is so much to explore, so much work to be done to help others. So many people to learn from, so much more to learn. I want to do it all. I just hope there is enough time.

PHILOSOPHY

Everyone is a teacher -- listen to and learn from everyone you meet. Always look for opportunities to step out of your comfort zone. Remember to look in all directions before you cross the street or any great divide -- above all, look within.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

The most excellent and random surfing experience of my life happened in Argentina...this was pre-Couchsurfing-website...

I was in college, spending a semester studying abroad, and it was our spring break. I was taking a 22-hour bus ride from Buenos Aires to Salta and found myself sitting next to a small group of teenage girls decked out, head to toe, in Backstreet Boys apparel. Oh yes. By about hour 12 of the bus journey, I decided to ask them the obvious, in Spanish, "Este...pues...les gustan los Backstreet Boys o qué?" (So...uhhm...do you like the Backstreet Boys or what?) Note, I wasn't trying to hit on them, I was just bored out of my mind and the curiosity was killing me. A girl with spiked fuscia-dyed hair and a giant safety pin earring jumped out of her seat and began pontificating on the beauty of the Backstreet Boys. It turns out they had left Salta two weeks prior -- their parents let them take time off from school and camp out on the streets of Buenos Aires to get tickets to the first Backstreet Boys concert in Argentina. She went on to enumerate her other music idols -- Gwen Stefani, Jim Morrison, and so on. As we approached our destination, hour 21 of the trip, my new punkish friend asked me where I was going to stay in Salta. I said I was going to find a hostal and that my friend would be coming into town the next day. Then she asked, very bluntly, "Sos mormón?" Are you Morman? (!?) I guess I looked the part. I laughed, but said no. She explained that her older sister was a converted Morman and they had missionaries stay with them all the time. She decided that I would be staying with her family. Umm...ok! Haha. So my friend and I stayed with Mariana, her older sister Clara, and their mother. They were so generous and welcoming. We experienced a true asado salteño (Salta bbq), learned to dance cumbia a la argentina, and made wonderful friends. Two years later I randomly met up with Mariana in Barcelona (she had graduated from high school and run off to Spain), and I've been dear friends with Clara since that fateful trip to Salta. I hope we all meet up again in Argentina someday!

Interests

music, drums, guitar, dancing (swing, two-step, salsa, merengue, bachata, cumbia, reggaeton), foreign languages, hiking, camping, biking, cooking, gardening

• beauty
• concerts
• dancing
• bachata
• cumbia
• cooking
• bbq
• baking
• running
• gardening
• music
• guitar
• drums
• cycling
• hiking
• camping
• surfing
• teaching
• languages

Music, Movies, and Books

Recently read Cloud Atlas and The Power of One. Instantly two of my favorite all-time reads.

My favorite books in Spanish are El sueño de Venecia, La sombra del viento, and a collection of short stories and novellas by Julio Cortazar called "Todos los fuegos el fuego".

Love the adventures of Petit Nicolas en francais. Also, Le petit prince.

Currently reading The Lost Cyclist...about a man who rode across the country and then across the world before vanishing just east of Turkey. In 1895.

Movies - So many...in more recent times, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Silver Linings Playbook, Argo.

TV - I avoid it....I fell down the "Breaking Bad" rabbithole for a while

Music - I like rowdy bands with brass and strings. Urban Achievers....Austin brass band playing New Orleans style....Flying Balalaika Brothers...russian two step

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Riding my bicycle from Chihuahua Mexico to Lake Louise, British Columbia. Best decision of my life.

Bioko Biodiversity Protection Program -- tracking endangered monkeys and sea turtles on Isla de Bioko, Equatorial Guinea, off the coast of Africa. Truly awesome.

www.bioko.org

Teaching teachers in Mexico though a program called IAPE. Best job adventure ever.

Touring the country with my 9-piece folkorchestra, WinoVino (www.winovino.com). There's nothing like seeing the country from a drum throne.

Teach, Learn, Share

I will gladly share whatever I can offer -- guitar, drums, songs, dances, foreign languages, mad pizza baking skillz, stories about remote places in the world

Countries I’ve Visited

Barbados, Belize, Canada, Costa Rica, Denmark, Equatorial Guinea, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Switzerland, Uruguay

Countries I’ve Lived In

Argentina, Mexico, Spain, United States

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