CURRENT MISSION
Live and travel lightly. No extra baggage please!

ABOUT ME
Prefer to not be "interrogated" when first meeting someone. Please try thinking of creative ways to extract information and avoid the oh so boring and generic question, "What do you do?" Am a compulsive smiler. For no specific reason. Love animals and nature. Not a full on, intense environmentalist yet trying to do my best every day. I love art, music, bike riding and crazy about my dog. During travels I like to see the touristy stuff but mostly enjoy the people and the not so touristy spots. Preferably the local spots where local people hang out. I like discovering the places through the eyes of those who have feelings and emotions toward them.

Animal doctor by profession, but I don`t charge anymore. Right now I give anyone free clinical advice and if friends need help with their pets I help them. But that`s not what pays the bills... and I'm OK with that.

Love people-watching in parks. Social interactions (by humans or other types of living forms) really fascinate me. Overall, I occupy lots of my time trying to figure out how things are connected to each other. Anything and everything.

I can`t avoid being intense and dig and go into the depth of things. I like desconstructing ideas and thoughts.

PHILOSOPHY
Respect other people's rights. Practice tolerance.
Give the benefit of the doubt. Listen more, talk less.
Everyone makes mistakes. Have empathy but be assertive.
Value other people's time. Plan ahead, but be flexible.
Respect differences in points of views. Everyone has a right to choose and love.
Say sorry when you do wrong, but mean it.
Be honest...especially to yourself. Less is more.
Don`t cheat, don`t lie, don`t steal. Not lying at all may be hard...but try to not make a habit out of it.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING
I tell people about CS and the wonderful philosophy behind it. Many people may be apprehensive at first so I motivate them to have a little trust (rarely practiced these days) and be a part of a community. Everyone should try to host or be hosted at least once in there lifetime.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE
Excellent!!! I have been tought many lessons of love and trust and friendship. I mostly enjoyed an experience in Praia Do Faro in Portugal where one host allowed six of us to stay with him. He never asked for anything else than to collaborate with the good atmosphere and cooperate with the usual chores, just to keep the place in place. I changed my view of what a stranger is after that. Sometimes people you don`t know as well are less of a stranger than those that you think you know well.

Interests

• animals
• wildlife
• arts
• books
• singing
• dancing
• human rights
• dining
• cooking
• yoga
• meditation
• movies
• traveling
• music
• cycling
• medicine
• psychology
• sociology
• parks
• food
• vintage
• lifestyles

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: The Crying Game, A Chorus Line, Blue Velvet, Muholland Drive, Trainspotting, anything made by David Lynch, Woody Allen, Almodóvar, Darren Aronofsky, Martin Scorsese, The Cohen Brothers, David Fincher, Guillermo del Toro, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Steven Soderbergh, Wes Anderson, Alejandro Amenábar. Leaving Las Vegas, Kramer vs Kramer, The Usual Suspects, The Piano, The Pianist, The Piano Teacher, Colour of Purple, Juno, Amigos del Círculo Polar, Crash, Monsoon Wedding, The Life of Others, Damage, Amelie, El Lado Oscuro del Corazón...I can go on and on...you get the picture... I like movies.

Music: I am open to listen to everything but I can listen to Bob Marley, Lauryn Hill, Massive Attack, Amy Winehouse, Anti Balas, Saint Germain, Fela Kuti, Kean, The Killers, Fiona Apple, Paula Cole, Radiohead, Bjork, Kruder and Dorfmeister, Sade, Nina Simone, Dave Matthews Band, Puccini, Bill Withers, Marvin Gaye, Sting, Sia...forever. I also like dance music and anything 80s. I am a blues, jazz, funk, punk, R&B, Brit rock and pop, hip-hop, trip-hop, new wave, bossa nova, Brazilian music, classical, kind of woman. Latin music? I prefer old boleros, trova, son, some Mexican, some Argentinian and some Colombian rock/pop and def Juan Luis Guerra!

Books: Siddharta, Collapse, anything by Toni Morrison, Junot Díaz, Arundhati Roy, Anais Nin. The Perfume, Mujeres Que Corren con los Lobos, Animal Farm, el Antropólogo Feliz...I like thrillers, biographies, scientific, but also beautiful, magical, intense and honest writing.I enjoy methaphores...

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Done: Lived in Central America for 4 years. Spent a month in a tropical forest with 12 people in Honduras with little to eat and very little change of clothes.

Seen: Several kinds of amazing tropical forests, free ranging wildlife, paintings by Munch, Andy Warhol, Frida Kahlo. amazing art that leaves you breathless and makes you feel you are in a wonderland.

Teach, Learn, Share

Teach: to appreciate silence, smile, talk to strangers, sing, dance, smell the flowers, how to not be afraid to pet animals on the streets, plan ahead, save money and spend less, detach from material stuff you don not need, pack a bag, let go of your inner child...

Learn: to be more patient, to meditate, to think slowly, read more, not to be afraid of elevators, other closed places and heights, how to manage my e-mails without letting them get buried in the inbox, roll my tongue, how to not always plan into the future so much, cook more at home and eat less at restaurants, put make up on, walk in heels, Ayurvedic medicine, Yoga...Breathe, it`s not that complicated.

Share: laughs, tears, books, music, point of views, clothes, shoes, information on Dominican Republic, hidden places we have visited, phone numbers, e-mails...

What I Can Share with Hosts

Experiences, points of views, advice, books, music, good conversation as well as silence, many, many smiles. Can also help with house chores if needed :)

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Bahamas, Canada, Colombia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, France, Germany, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Panama, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Spain, United States

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