ABOUT ME

After roaming in East Asia (China, Taiwan, Hong Kong) for 8 years, finally figured out I wanted to be a language teacher. After 6 years teaching Chinese at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey and Oahu, my conscience got me to realize that language teaching is supposed to build bridges - not bombs, and have been teaching Mandarin in the Portland public schools since 2007. I’m a single parent to a 16 yr old son, Kai (Ocean).

PHILOSOPHY

Carpe Diem!
Laughter is the secret to health and longevity (my grandmother's wisdom - she lived to 98).

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Crashed with Chinese grunge rockers in Chengdu, villagers in Java, Indonesia, intellectuals in Hong Kong, friends all over Europe, and home stays in Cuba, Cambodia, and Suzhou, China.

Interests

Surfing (warm ocean waters, if possible), soccer (both playing and watching), hiking, food, food, and food...oh yeah, and of course traveling.

• dining
• traveling
• drums
• hiking
• surfing
• soccer
• teaching

Music, Movies, and Books

3 Cups of Tea, Kite Runner, American History X, Babel, To Live. West African music.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Hitchhiked by truck to Lhasa, Tibet from Qinghai Province. Took me 2 days and 2 nights, so arriving in Lhasa truly felt like arriving in the Shangri-La.

Teach, Learn, Share

Taichi - 20 years.
Chinese language - trained teacher.

Countries I’ve Visited

China

Countries I’ve Lived In

China, Ghana, Singapore, Sweden, United States

•