CURRENT MISSION

Live fully, Give generously, Make people smile, Promote peace.

ABOUT ME

Bubbly, musical, and always on an adventure... My best buddy is my awesome little dog Odzi who goes with me nearly everywhere I do.

PHILOSOPHY

I believe in giving.
i am perhaps hopelessly optimistic much of the time. but I recognize the balance of good and bad, and i know all i can do is give and teach and be myself and through small steps i hope many things in this world will improve. I believe that peace starts within each one of us but it should definitely not stop there. Honesty is so important to me, and i really appreciate the people in my life who value that as well.
There's a lot more to my personal philosophy, but it takes many, many words. And i believe in dialogue rather than preaching.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have been part of this community for years and the website itself seems to have changed a lot since I was more active in it (right, fellow CSers?) but as far as I can tell it is still a community--one that has given me much over the years! Not just through the host-guest experiences, but through the discussions in message boards, folks always wholeheartedly happy to give advice to strangers. But there's something about this network of people that doesn't really feel entirely like strangers. At least in my experience, this is a community.

Interests

Traveling, cultures, meeting people, pondering, the outdoors, canoeing, swimming, thunder storms, islands, lakes, blizzards, dogs, animals, making people smile, music, art, guitar, violin, banjo (haven't really learnt this one yet), writing, reading, love, friends, the moon, languages, laughter, thrift stores, "camp!", hiking, trees, suspenders, bare feet, international affairs, beaches...... life is waiting and i'm interested.

• animals
• dogs
• arts
• writing
• thrifting
• reading
• traveling
• socializing
• music
• guitar
• violin
• outdoor activities
• hiking
• canoeing
• camping
• swimming
• languages
• law
• volunteering
• beaches
• lakes

Music, Movies, and Books

I am a lover of music, including: State Radio, Adrian Roye and the Exiles, Alkazar, Allman Brothers, the Beatles, Beethoven, Bill Staines, Blackalicious, Bob Dylan, Bob Marley, Enanitos Verdes, Etta James, the Fugees, Jay Unger, Jimi Hendrix, John Craigie, KT Tunstall, Maná, Old Crow Medicine Show, Otis Redding, Ozomatli, Stephen Grappelli, Stephen Kellogg (and the Sixers), Tracy Chapman, Van Morrison, Yan Yates, Zox....

I play, too. My instruments are mainly guitar and voice; I identify myself as a "singer-songwriter" with various influences and in recent years have taken up old-time and bluegrass as well. My first love was the violin and I am a bit of a closet fiddler at this point.

Movies...I love movies that make people think. I usually like foreign films and independent films more than mainstream American movies. A Time for Drunken Horses is a movie that i saw years ago that i have never forgotten; it made a big impression on me.

A few books that stand out in my mind presently are The Kite Runner, Guests of the Sheik, The Color Purple, Snow in August, the Secret Life of Bees, Pedro Páramo, Nineteen Eighty-Four, el Alquimista, the Wingdingdilly...

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I am proud to be a volunteer camp counselor for 1 week a year working with at-risk youth. I think one of the most amazing things is creating hope and trust in a child who has seen more hardship in her young life than i can ever imagine.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, Cuba, France, Honduras, Netherlands, Spain, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, Honduras, United Kingdom, United States

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