CURRENT MISSION

I'm trying to love, learn and live life fully while trying to have the biggest positive impact I can

ABOUT ME

I am a very active person, which is part of the reason I became a teacher. I truly enjoy meeting new people and gaining new knowledge and perspectives. I know I have a lot to learn, and that makes me happy!

PHILOSOPHY

I love to be wrong- it means I've learned something new- that's what I tell my students and remind myself. I have had an interesting life so far- and I've learned not to assume things or to assume that people will be a certain way, but to be open to the startingly new.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have had a great time meeting people couchsurfing, but haven't done much of it yet.

Interests

hiking, dancing, reading, singing, camping, traveling (surprise!), listening to music-going to shows, just being with my son, family and friends, walking and playing with my dog, discussing anything with thoughtful, interesting people.

• dogs
• singing
• dancing
• running
• walking
• reading
• traveling
• socializing
• music
• hiking
• camping
• teaching

Music, Movies, and Books

Hmm- Books I've read that I like: A Confederacy of Dunces, The Master and Margarita by Bulgogov, The Man With No Qualities by Musil, Beyond Good and Evil by Nietzsche, 1776, American Sphinx, John Adams, Team of Rivals, Master of the Senate, The Sirens of Titan by Vonnegut, Burr and Myra Breckenridge by Gore Vidal, Immortality by Milan Kundera, Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins For Whom the Bell Tolls Hemmingway, Dead Souls by Gogol, Short Stories by Sherwood Anderson, Devil in the White City, The Razor's Edge, Bird by Bird, Truman and Mornings on Horseback by David McCullough- I'll stop there. I love reading as well as discussing lit/philosophy/history/religion, etc., but I try not to have pretentious conversations, just ones where everyone's learning something and honestly interested in learning NOT impressing others. I love pretty much any kind of food! I love music-I've collected a decent amount, and I'm going for more. I like most genres except pop country and reggaeton- but I'm picky about what music I like within those genres. Some examples of music I like (in no particular order): otis redding, sam cooke, black keys, tapes n' tapes, sonic youth, johnny cash, hank williams sr., low, jeff buckley, mozart, bach, john lee hooker, fugazi, minor threat, the roots, against me!, al green, dusty springfield, arcade fire, billie holiday, ella fitzgerald, tom waits, black sabbath, bob dylan, bob marley, jorge ben, wilco, cesaria evora, caetano veloso, digable planets, soda stereo, cat stevens, radiohead, charlie parker, miles davis, john coltrane, CCR, crosby, nash, stills and young, goran bregovic, buffalo springfield, david bowie, fiery furnaces, stevie wonder, duke ellington, glenn miller, kristin hersh, nick cave and the bad seeds, led zeppelin, velvet underground, neil young, paul simon, prince, r.e.m., wolf parade, sufjan stevens, talking heads- ok, I think that's enough for now.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I was once in the middle of a huge herd of Elk with my mom. We are both barely above 5 feet- so their hind legs were taller than us. First it was just does we saw all around us, they had been resting behind bushes, but then the giant buck stood up and stared us down for what seemed a long time, but was probably only a few seconds. He seemed to be staring us down to try to determine if he should charge us, or lead the herd away. Luckily, he chose to lead the herd away- of course this meant all the elk starting running all around us. The funny thing is I had chosen this hike as an easy and calm one to take my mom on, because she's not used to hiking, but it ended up being a lot more exciting than I planned it to be.

Teach, Learn, Share

I'm not sure if I have special skills to share, but I have taught for 12 years now- ages 6 to 15, so I suppose I've gained some insights about teaching and children.

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