CURRENT MISSION

To revisit, among other places in Switzerland, a fountain in Bern where my brother and I posed for a picture in 1971. I want to take the same picture with my children.

ABOUT ME

I've been traveling back and forth to Germany and Austria almost my whole life, as far back as high school when I stayed with friends of the family in Bensheim and later worked as an au pair in Darmstadt. After college I had a Fulbright to Vienna and later in graduate school I lived in Cologne for a year, where I met my husband, Joachim. He and I have spent a total of three years living in Würzburg, where I directed Davidson College's junior year abroad program. In fact my son Nico was born there in 1997. Joachim and I have made it a priority to raise him and our daughter Nola bilingually and biculturally, so we try and spend every summer in Cologne. Often times we'll make road trips, too, to other places, like Paris, Amsterdam, Prague, and the South Tyrol. This year we're hoping to make a side trip to Switzerland. I want to restage a photo of my brother and me at a fountain in Bern circa 1971 with Nico and Nola, who are thirteen and fifteen.

PHILOSOPHY

I'm progressive in my politics and understand the notion of being a cultivated person not only in terms of knowing what's going on in the world but also simply by treating everyone with kindness and respect, regardless of whether their viewpoints differ from mine. That's what I've learned by living in the "conservative" south of the U.S. People here are very kind and caring, which is a bottom line for me in human relations.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I live to travel in the summer, putting my nose to the grindstone during the school year, all the while dreaming of summer adventures far, far away from our little North Carolina college town. We are a lively, but well-behaved foursome who love to talk - about politics, soccer (well, Joachim and Nico at any rate), film, music, pop culture, etc. - and laugh out loud.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

none so far

Interests

I like film and literature, dance, design, and roaming around new cities. On my last trip to New York in May I was thrilled to see the new Islamic Wing at the Metropolitan; in July I hope to return with Nola and see the Punk Couture exhibit. Big cities give me a huge buzz; even my kids get excited by the possibilities in places like New York, Berlin, Vienna and Paris, even though they know they'll be on their feet all day.

• culture
• literature
• design
• perfumes
• dancing
• exercise
• politics
• traveling
• music
• muslim
• soccer
• road trips
• au-pair

Music, Movies, and Books

We love edgy comedy and often communicate around the house via quotes from favorite films, like The Big Lebowski and This is Spinal Tap. Nico seems to be getting his political education from Comedy Central, lately by watching debates between John Stewart and Bill O'Reilly.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

a trainride through the Swiss Alps in winter. It doesn't get much more beautiful that that.

Teach, Learn, Share

Traveling back and forth from the U.S. to Germany on a regular basis is always a useful exercise in behavior modification - scaling back on my American love of small talk when I'm in Germany and worrying less about being too direct because Germans appreciate honesty, then returning home to a small place where even perfect strangers greet each other. It's all good, and I feel very lucky having the opportunity to be who I am - with adjustments - in two different cultures.