I've mellowed with age, so I prefer quiet activities to, say, going to a bar. But I'm not opposed to going out salsa dancing. I also love doing anything outdoors.

I like to do things that challenge my current paradigm. This includes arguing. I'm spirited, but unless your position is vitriolic or harms others, it's nothing personal.

PHILOSOPHY

"I apportioned between them the two main contrasting tendencies in myself: zest for life, and the urge towards literary achievement." --Simone de Beauvoir, The Prime of Life

Life is practice.

MISSION

To live creatively; to practice: writing, yoga, languages.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

To broaden my perspectives by sharing languages, thought, and experiences through art and travel.

When I was living in Costa Rica, I once had to wait for a bus outside a "dangerous" city. I was patient, but people at the stops kept telling me, "you need to leave before dark, it gets really dangerous around here...etc." I waited for 7 hours, still no bus. Started to worry, struck up a conversation with a woman who lived about 20 minutes away. She said if the bus didn't come I could stay with her and her family. The bus didn't come, so I stayed with her. Celebrated her son's birthday, slept in a bed, and walked to the bus stop with her daughter in the morning. True kindness extended to a stranger. Mil gracias a esta muchacha Maribel.

Also, I want to pay it forward for the 6 months I stayed with my manager/ den mother/ friend extrordinaire and her magnificent husband at "The Kubner Home for Wayward Lasses."

I have had excellent experiences as a host when I lived in Moab, Utah.

Interests

Art, philosophy of. Writing. Yoga. Languages, namely Spanish. Coffee. Tea. Mesoamerican cultures. Linguistic Anth. Architecture. Outdoor stuff: hiking, mountain biking, rafting, climbing, skiing, canyoneering, mountaineering. Jokes. Volunteering. Wine. Walking. Bunnies. Adventures of any kind. Cumbia, salsa, bachata. Food. Dancing. Landscapes. Photos. Foreign films. Plants, living things.

Displacement, entropy and restlessness which manifests in traveling and which I try to keep at bay with yoga and tea.

• arts
• writing
• poetry
• architecture
• dancing
• salsa dancing
• bachata
• cumbia
• dining
• cooking
• wine
• coffee
• yoga
• walking
• gardening
• movies
• traveling
• music
• outdoor activities
• cycling
• hiking
• mountaineering
• skiing
• rock climbing
• languages
• volunteering

Music, Movies, and Books

Music:
French Reggae. 80s punk. Sad old country music. Sounds. Symphonies. Arvo Part. Zola Jesus. Alberta Cross. 90s hip hop. Nujabes. Mercedes Sosa. Swing Tico. Ryan Adams. Gillian Welch. Gipsy Kings. Buena Vista Social Club. Experimental jazz. Lady rappers. Fado. Son Jarocho. Cumbia, salsa, bachata. Trip Hop.

Writers:
Djuna Barnes, Tessa Rumsey, Mei-mei Berssenbrugge, Forrest Gander, Marvin Bell, Lucie Brock-Broido, Adorno, Kierkegaard, Simone de Beauvoir, Nietzche, Louise Erdrich, Maggie Nelson, Maurice Merleau-Ponty. Miguel Angel Asturias. J.M. Coetzee, W.G. Sebald. Julio Cortazar. Borges. Isabel Allende. Gloria Anzaldua.

Movies:
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. Waking Life. The Good Girl. Amelie. No Country for Old Men. O Brother Where Art Thou. Babel. Alamar. The Fountain. Hero. House of the Flying Daggers. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. El espiritu de la colmena.

Artists:
Marlene Dumas. Henry Moore. Reza. Nancy Holt—land art in general.

Architects:
Tadao Ando. Pretty much anything ancient.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Loved.

Also swam with whale sharks. Both of these things were sort of similar, but the sharks did not bite.

Teach, Learn, Share

I love speaking Spanish. I want to practice Kaqchiquel (says "Yucatec Maya" on languages I'm learning, because Google doesn't recognize Kaqchiquel, apparently.)

We can do yoga together. I can make you love poetry, or share some, if you already do.

I want to learn how to cook more things than I can. I am great at making variations on rice or pasta (ask for #313) and toast.

I am a student of gardening as well.

I like to think of teaching as more of an exchange of experiences.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Good stories, good music. I can write you a poem or dance the night away.

Countries I’ve Visited

Costa Rica, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Guatemala, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Poland, Russian Federation, Spain, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

Costa Rica, Guatemala, Spain, Sweden, United States

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