CURRENT MISSION

to let go of the North American pressure to prove myself.

ABOUT ME

I'm an old soul hippie at heart. I love making music, any kind of art or craft, writing is something I do every day, that and dream of an inevitable future carving my happiness out of the wilderness, living off-grid, growing everything I eat and never stepping foot in an office to join the billions of unhappy window-gawking souls in the cities. That should give a good idea of who I am. If only I didn't have to rely on a computer for accommodation...

PHILOSOPHY

"The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars..."

Jack Kerouac

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I've stayed with well over 100 surfers in Europe, Central America, Asia and the States, and have hosted at least 30, I pretty much participate in the project on an ongoing basis. I make Couchsurfing-themed cards and pass them on to people I encounter on the road, every time I meet someone with couchsurfing-potential I tell them about it, and spread the word about CS to every driver that picks us up hitchhiking. About 30 new surfers have joined after 1 told them about it, so thats a start, and hopefully there will be more to come!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I started doing this in 2005, since then I've surfed in maybe a dozen countries, everything from living room floors, kitchen tables, exercise rooms, empty hotel beds, offices, barns, caves, parks, castles, attics, sandboxes, classrooms, stairwells, computer labs, libraries, and riverbanks, but I must say, the one experience that tops them ALL would have to be the day and night spent in the top floor of the incredibly funky circular Cafe Luebke looking down over the ancient town of Trier in West Germany. I begged the owner to let me spend the night in this amazing cafe rather than continue hitchhiking through the blustery winter snow, and would you believe it, he did.

Interests

Dancing, all instruments, crafts, travelling place to place, random conversations with strangers, juggling, permaculture, sustainability, crepe making, singing, journalling, foreign cultures, swimming, vegetarians, weaving, community gardens, teaching, exploring, people-watching, trampolines, origami, recycling, random ideas, spontaneity, and the sound of water.

• arts
• writing
• books
• singing
• dancing
• waltz
• dining
• recipes
• exercise
• crafts
• clothing
• flowers
• traveling
• juggling
• knitting
• painting
• drawing
• origami
• music
• violin
• outdoor activities
• swimming
• business
• languages
• hitchhiking
• wwoof
• parks

Music, Movies, and Books

the Backyard Homestead, the HOME Project, Waking Life, An Inconvenient Truth, A Question of Existence/ A Question of Freedom -Andy Butler, No Logo, Dark Age Ahead, We Like it Wild, On the Road, The Fearless Traveller, Change the World for 10 Bucks.

Putumayo, 1940s music, Damien Rice, Feist, Dandy Warhols, Kings of Convenience, Regina Spektor, Emiliana Torrini, Amelie, Yann Tiersen, Adam Green on certain days, Surjan Stevens, Flight of the Concords, classical stuff.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I went to Italy for a weekend and because I needed some water, I ended up moving with two elderly raw-food naturalist Germans in the middle of nowhere, picked and pressed olives for 4 months, took the oil to Canada, bottled it and sold it in farmers markets and Earth day events to spread the word about alternative living, took the money and started heading to Central America to buy land and build an eco-village, established the business in Baja California and continued on.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach you how to juggle, bake bread or pie, make crepes or funnel cakes, origami boxes or balls, make a paper basket, how to knit, french braid, draw, how to play mancala or bocci ball, make jewelery out of telephone wire or flowers, paper snowflakes or lanterns, pompoms, and random things with your hands like whistling, baby noises and dragon heads.

With me you can practice german or spanish, learn about sustainable living (basics), dance basics, or get inspiration for carrying out your dreams and leaving your comfort zone. I'm always encouraging people to get out there and see what the world has to offer.

WEBSITES:
http://www.instructables.com - how to make ANYTHING
http://www.kiva.org/ - best 'charity' helping people help themselves
http://www.helpx.net - worldwide free work exchange
http://www.bookcrossing.com - free books floating around the world for the taking / leaving
http://www.scribd.com - free ebooks for the downloading
http://www.karmawish.com - random international 'favours' to help and be helped in any way
http://www.freecycle.org - getting/giving free stuff instead of throwing it away
http://free-wwoof.info/ - free international wwoof host list
http://www.43things.com - general inspiration for goals
http://www.homegrown.org - self-explanatory

Other Stuff to share:
I'm totally up for swapping anything from our computers. I collect free ebooks too, and will give you a copy of anything you want (mostly agricultural/green, crafts, recipes, sheet music and how-tos). You're welcome to play any of my instruments as well.

WHAT I'D LIKE TO LEARN/PRACTICE:
-waltz
-violin vibrato
-painting with oil
-making paper
-simple clothes sewing patterns
-jokes, quotes and health tips
-languages

What I Can Share with Hosts

If you have a little gas and an open outdoor space, I can give you a little fire dancing show and let you try it for yourself. And I can share lots of stories and personal tips.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Barbados, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Guatemala, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Scotland, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, France, Germany, Guatemala, Italy, Mexico, South Korea, Spain, United States

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