CURRENT MISSION

To bridge the gap between cultures.

ABOUT ME

Chad and I are environmentalists. We are social activists. We are minimalists. We are writers, artists and visionaries. For the sake of humanity, we choose to live in a cabin in the backwoods of Kentucky. We understand we are making a statement. The consequences of our past actions as part of the military industrial complex and our desire to be accountable currently in our carbon footprint reflect an evolved moral aptitude that is not quickly accepted. It is our homestead. It is land we own and farm by lakeside. We hike, we fish, we hunt, we farm, we forage, and we live with intention. If we are to ask others to live responsibly, we must also do so ourselves.

Often I have often been used as a model to help people promote cultural diversity, whether it was my acceptance into a predominantly white academic institutions or being hired to greet the public in the rural south. I have always enjoyed being given the opportunity to be that model. But I have to say that these experiences have brought to my attention how people view me, versus how I view myself. Though I have been described as a twenty-something black, (sometimes used as a racial expletive), I see myself as something more basic, purely a human being. And as a result, I see everyone else with the same Anthropologistic simplicity. Ergo, I am capable of being empathetic to others, ignoring perceived cultural barriers. We all laugh, we all cry, we all try to dance to the beat of our own drum. Most importantly, we strive to truly live and love.

I am in reality, of many races, black, white and hispanic. I am of a heritage of many religions, Christian, Catholic, Jewish and Muslim. I have lived in different places, both rural and urban, wealthy neighborhoods and poor. In all of these places I have bared witness to numerous acts of discrimination, as well as being personally discriminated against. As a people, we cannot help but hold prejudices, it is in our simple categorizations do we find comfort and thusly allow ourselves to stay simple minded. It is easy for many to label me as black. There are many negative associations to this word. Ignorant, ghetto, criminal-minded, violence-prone and ugly. These are adjectives which neither define me nor bind me. And I am well aware of the pitfalls of assuming anything of anyone based on their color or culture.

A few years ago our journey into sustainable living began when my husband I decided to spend several winter months living in a camper on Bureau of Land Management Government land in Winterhaven, California. I used public restrooms which also provide cold showers that I frequent. There was potable water there, a half a mile from my campsite, which provided me with drinking water, water for my dishes and water for my laundry which I hand washed and line dried. Many fellow winter visitors or snow birds as we are often called, come out there to the desert to retire. Every year folks make the long drive to the southwest of the United States, sometimes from as far north as Canada. They are older folks, mostly, who candidly admit they come here to die, but I myself went there to live. It is there that we began our journey into learning about composting, grey water, solar, gardening, hunting, fishing, foraging, an alternative way of living.

Escaping the hustle and bustle of my New York City home, I have since long embraced the beauty of the American rural landscapes. I hike, run, fish and most importantly I write. You learn to appreciate simple things when you challenge yourself to live as 80% of the world currently lives, without proper electricity and no indoor plumbing.

Chad & I have focused a great deal of energy into researching sustainable living for our home in Kentucky. That is why we forage, grow a garden, compost, and oftentimes raise our own protein.

When we are at our home in Kentucky, we would love to meet other travelers. We would love to treat them to a good time fishing, camping and home cooked meals. We would also love to make some trips into Cincinnati and hit up places there from time to time.

PHILOSOPHY

Practice a life of substance and you are already more free than most.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I've hosted a few times but I have yet to couchsurfed myself.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I woke one morning with an idea. At the time we were out in the desert living in our camper. It was following a night of having friends over by the fire, grilling up steaks and drinking a few bears. The sun was just coming up over the mountains outside my window. "What if you had a website to help connect people who like to host with people who like to crash?" Of course this is a brilliant concept and I was confident that I was not the first. My husband and I have been avid travelers for years and have every intention of now using this website when we have an internet connection.

Interests

My time is spent reading, writing, researching, studying languages, cooking new dishes and drinking expensive alcohol out of mason jars. We make our own cheeses, dips, yogurts, wines and breads. I run, hike, fish, do pilates/yoga, do combatives and kickbox. We love movies and usually have a new one in stock if not a rental from netflix. When don't eat out much. A man from Manchester, England summed it up best. Why would you pay someone to do what you could do perfectly well yourself Trevor had a good point. DIY & Unplug.

• birds
• fish
• culture
• writing
• coloring
• beauty
• dancing
• environment
• dining
• cooking
• yoga
• pilates
• running
• modeling
• drinking
• gardening
• movies
• reading
• eating out
• drawing
• homesteading
• fishing
• hiking
• camping
• boxing
• languages
• religion
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

Some good books I've read recently?
check me out on goodreads.com for that. lorenswan@aol.com

Some Good Movies?
The Heart of the Sea
Machuca
Midnight Express
The Yellow Sea
Mesrine

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I honestly don't know where to begin. Jeez. When I asked Chad he had the same reaction. These are things that I would hope to share with individuals over time. Not something crudely pasted into a msg box. I have to draw the line here.

Teach, Learn, Share

I am a New Yorker, born and raised. I have lived and worked on the east and west coast, mid-west and the south. I have camped across Canada and Mexico and I was an exchange student in western Europe in my teens. In my travels I have learned that a person surrounded by a melting pot of culture is just as capable of prejudices as someone born never seeing a person of color till ten years old. Prejudices are not born of a lack of diversity in environment but is an engineered mindset. It is my responsibility, everyone’s responsibility to build bridges of cultural understanding. So when I am asked those hard questions, every single time, although they may sound demeaning and condescending, I answer those questions, to the best of my ability, because deep down I know we are all the same, human.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Food, drinks, and fun.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, France, Mexico, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States