Words I live by: have a sense of humor and don't panic. I enjoy good old fashioned fun and; a hearty sense of life, placing a premium on kindness and joy. Love learning from and about others. Total language nerd in all ways. Easy-going, quick to laugh, and considerate.

While my Spanish is listed as fluent, it is rusty but used to be fantastic. It's getting there slowly again since moving to Easter Island, Chile May 2018. I'm an avid reader, very physically active, and always ready to enjoy a new adventure. I'm as big a fan of grand adventures as daily micro-adventures.

Art, music, being outside, reading, dancing, exploring, researching whatever, games with friends... I just love to live to the brim, mostly.

A short list of adventures: I've hitchhiked across Cuba where I also taught old folks aerobics, dog mushed in Alaska, served as a recreation leader to at-risk youth in Bolivia, played Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge in Eugene Oregon's TrekTheatre, sailed for a month in the intercoastal waters of Patagonia, and as of May 2018 teach English to Spanish and Rapa Nui speakers along with yoga, meditation, cooking, and more upcoming outdoor related excursions, on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) where I'm now a novice surfer too.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I decided it was finally time to take the couch-surfing opportunity to meaningfully expand connections in the world. I want to learn from others and widen my circle of knowledge, which couch surfing supports. I also want to support other travelers with a similar mind and mission to engage their world further and learn all the more from it.

Please note: the only reason I am "maybe" accepting guests currently is owing to new tourism laws put in place in Rapa Nui/Easter Island/Isla de Pascua August 2018. You can always get in touch to see if it can happen but it is, in short, not a straight-forward matter though I personally am happy to host whenever possible.

Interests

"The Laughing Heart"

your life is your life
don’t let it be clubbed into dank submission.
be on the watch.
there are ways out.
there is light somewhere.
it may not be much light but
it beats the darkness.
be on the watch.
the gods will offer you chances.
know them.
take them.
you can’t beat death but
you can beat death in life, sometimes.
and the more often you learn to do it,
the more light there will be.
your life is your life.
know it while you have it.
you are marvelous
the gods wait to delight
in you.

-- by Charles Bukowski

• literature
• beer
• bouldering
• music
• surfing
• trail running
• rock climbing
• languages
• language exchange
• art
• tea
• laughing
• star trek
• teaching languages
• language learning
• libraries
• endurance sports
• teaching english
• microadventures
• yoga and meditation
• reading and writing
• tedtalks
• conscious living
• minority languages
• plogging

Music, Movies, and Books

Book:
"The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows," John Koenig
"The BFG," Roald Dahl
"Roughing It," Mark Twain
"2666," Roberto Bolaño

Movie:
Gremlins.

Music:
Recently? A lot of Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings, Chancha Via Circuito, John Prine, and Sigur Rós.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

#1: Ripped an apple in half with my bare hands!

(... But also:
- Dropped a beer bottle from up high with one hand and caught it way down low with the other, totally saving the day.

- Moved to the most remote inhabited island in the world (Rapa Nui/Easter Island/Isla de Pascua) all by my big bad lonesome at age 35 to teach language and movement related education, where I've also taken on teaching myself to surf at a very late bloomer age. I stood the first day!

- Sailed for a month in the intercoastal waters of Patagonia

- Dog mushed and watched the aurora borealis flat backed on a frozen lake in the Alaskan bush.

- Hitchhiked across Cuba (where I also taught the elderly aerobics)

- Served as a recreation leader for at-risk youth in Bolivia

- Bushwhacked my way through a 4 hour hike in the Peruvian Amazon

- Worked with 4 different languages (aside from my native English language), one of which Couchsurfing does not have listed: The Pacific Northwest indigenous language Sahaprin-Ichishkíin

- Grad school only by bike!

- Played croquet at sunrise in Great Sand Dunes National Park (Colorado, USA)

- Took all the skin off my knee down to the knee cap trail running and; while waiting on the mountainside for the paramedics, called in calmly to let work know I would not make it to that afternoon's deep clean after all. Once arrived, paramedics asked me if I was always that calm. I'd like to think so, unless I'm about to see a tree fall over your head and; then I want to be all fast action and loud noises.

- Prevented an unnecessary death

Teach, Learn, Share

Can teach:

Languages...
- Advanced English, intermediate Spanish, and beginner Portuguese. I also have expertise in teaching general language learning and study skills.

Movement...
- Yoga, fundamentals of rock climbing, effective running posture, and the basics of how to design (or start) an exercise program that works for you and you're liable to stick with.

Miscellaneous...
- How to make a lantern with a glass of water and; a cell phone.
- The fundamentals of ripping an apple open with both hands

Learn:
Always looking to improve my Spanish and Portuguese! Also, I'm teaching myself surfing but invite any opportunity to learn from someone more expert than I.

Share:
I can edit just about any English language document. I can either just edit, or coach someone on how to improve their own writing. I'm a well known animal care-taker. I also am wicked good with puns.

What I Can Share with Hosts

A fresh perspective.

A good laugh, open ears, and pertinent questions.

Kindness, graciousness, openness.

Stories.

Language learning and study expertise.

Low-pressure, abundantly fun and/or replenishing mediation and yoga sessions.

Camaraderie or, if you prefer, silence.

I also leave places better than when I arrived.

Animal care!

Countries I’ve Visited

Belize, Bolivia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Honduras, Mexico, Peru, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Bolivia, Chile, Cuba