I am an friendly, open spontaneous person looking to have new experiences. Life is meant to be enjoyed, I say.

Food, travel, nature, family and friends are the core if my life. My teenagers are full of energy and jokes, sometimes too many!! I enjoy growing plants from seed, especially edibles, and watching them spring to life in my garden.

Meeting new people and expanding my understanding of the world is important to me. We have been hosting international students for a couple years now. It has been so much fun to help them. My kids enjoy them too! I am a typical Midwest American woman who moved to the Netherlands in 2010. Since then my view of this planet becomes increasingly smaller as I understand that we as humans live our lives so similarly with similar life issues. Unfortunately language, culture and distance hide the true connection we all share. My viewpoint on being American has also changed incredibly: neither for the better nor worse, just different. I have grown to live the Netherlands as my home. Sharing its jewels is great fun.

I met my husband in 2001. Since then I have seen several European countries, learned Dutch, had two kids, and worked internationally in big and small companies as a sales executive. I have always loved people and joining CS helps me to help others and or get to know the world a bit better.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I found couch surfing as an alternative to other sites like airbnb to assist with my travels home to the US. As a student I had a few couchsurfing experiences where I learned to get to new people and made my trip more enjoyable. I might travel with my kids and think it would be a good way to teach them about travel and expanding your environment.

Interests

As stated above: love people and their quirks, movies, food!, gardening, travels, great conversations, spiritual endeavors, and exercise.

I also live meeting new people from all walks of life. It never fails to surprise me how we can always learn something from each other.

• culture
• books
• environment
• dining
• cooking
• exercise
• gardening
• movies
• traveling
• hiking
• surfing

Music, Movies, and Books

Favorite anything has been the toughest question for me since childhood. If you love potato skins just as much as pizza how do you really choose?

I'd say I am a consumer of alt music ( Foo Fighters, STP, Hozier), some pop (Rihanna, Nelly Furtado) , classic rock (all), jazz and the standards ( frank sinatra, billie holiday, coltrane), chill out music, indie. What I listen to depends on my mood that day. Gotta love spotify and its numerous playlists!

Movies: i tend to like thought provoking dramas with unusual independent themes. Many of Wes Andersens films apply here. However, I generally like films with George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bradley Cooper, Kate Winselt, Cate Blanchette, and other forward thinking actors.

As for books, I frequently read non-fiction varying from business to crystals to theology to motivational. I enjoyed a well written novel (David Gaiman 'American Gods') or a great suspense like 'Gone Girl'

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

The best trip was the walk between Monteroso to Riomagiorre in the Cinque Terre with my husband. It was one of the first trips to Italy. We went in May, just before it was busy. The sites were absolutely gorgeous! And of course the food. We had a lovely AirBnB host in a quiet hill nearby.

The othe mr is staying in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s bedroom in Juan-les-Pans during my honeymoon. Totally art deco.

I also have seen buffalo, a bucket list item, at the Salt Lake. Very hairy, swarms of flys and invisible gnats that will will kill you dead should you open your door to get a look at them hairy monsters before you. We took a beating, but finally got them out.

Teach, Learn, Share

I am someone who never stops learning, loves teaching others and sharing what I have. Su casa es mi casa!

What I Can Share with Hosts

Tales of living abroad, Dutch culture, raising bilingual children, sharing in cooking, some cleaning.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Monaco, Netherlands, Spain, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Netherlands, United States