CURRENT MISSION

Recovering from a challenging year of teaching...European-style!

ABOUT ME

I am a music teacher in Bloomington, IN. I fell in love with international travel when my high school band toured Europe in 2002. Since then, traveling has become one of my biggest passions. I've traveled extensively in the US and Europe, lived in Milan, Italy, and love to trade travel stories and meet interesting people.

PHILOSOPHY

Don't wait until you have money and time to travel - you never will!

Don't hesitate to introduce yourself to someone - you never know what you might learn from each other.

If you don't go out of your comfort zone, your life may not be very interesting or fulfilling.

Too many awesome relationships and memories come from experiences that you thought you couldn't afford, didn't have time for, or weren't comfortable with.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I'm a newbie, but I have had many opportunities to meet people from different backgrounds, and I love the learning that can happen as a result of such an encounter. Even better are the relationships that can be built over time with people from afar. I hope that my membership in the CS Project will open the door to more of these enriching relationships.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Favorite couch surf: Staying with my great friend Christina in Innsbruck, Austria and sleeping in her flat a mere 100m from the famous Goldenes Dachl (golden roof). It had been passed down thru her family, and the roof over my head was built sometime before 1480 (according to the date scrawled in the beams). Nobody from the Western World had even set foot in my country in 1480! How cool!

Interests

Travel, making new friends in the places I visit, ballroom dancing, biking, eating new foods, and of course, music.

• festivals
• dancing
• ballroom dancing
• traveling
• socializing
• music
• jazz
• cycling
• teaching

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: Bela Fleck & the Flecktones, Ben Folds, MIKA, Sonny Rollins, Michael Brecker, Maria Schneider, and countless others.

Books: currently? Water for Elephants. Also have to give a shout-out to Michael Koryta, a former schoolmate - now best-selling author - who writes fabulous crime novels and thrillers.

Movies: V for Vendetta, Shakespeare in Love, Juno, Gran Torino, The Visitor, many more.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Innsbruck, Austria in Summer, Fall, and Winter.

The North Sea Jazz Festival - twice!

Burg Eltz near Wierschem, Germany.

Naples area in the off-season. It's an amazing thing to have Pompeii, Capri, and the Amalfi Coast all to yourself.

St. Peter's in the Vatican City, and the view from the top, plus lunch overlooking the Colosseum.

Champions League game in San Siro.

Sitting in on a rehearsal at La Scala in Milan.

Teach, Learn, Share

Happy to teach anyone to play the saxophone (or clarinet).

I am always looking to learn and share a new dance stop with someone.

I'd like to learn to speak (and read) better Italian, and German someday, as well. I also need to learn how to manage my classroom better! I'm a push-over!

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Switzerland

Countries I’ve Lived In

Italy, United States

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