CURRENT MISSION

Following my dreams.

ABOUT ME

I've traveled to 60 countries, lived on five continents and love meeting new people. I am interested in finding other international types in Portland, OR and beyond. We are Airbnb hosts to pay the mortgage, so couches are harder to come by. When we are in Portland we rent out a room, and I'm happy to offer discounts to fellow courchsurfers. I would love to meet for coffee and give tips.

PHILOSOPHY

Make every moment count. Life is what you put into it. Make your dreams happen. Live your own life.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

In my early days with CouchSurfing, I found friends in Kabul and Southeast Asia. I've also done plenty of couch surfing before the net was around.

My best couch surfing (with out the benefit of the site) were:
Sweden - Staying at a friend of a friend who new me when I was a baby.
Portugal - Staying with a nice guy and his son that we met at the ATM when we discovered the last bus had left and the hotel was booked.
Finland - More times than I can count - crashing with fellow exchange students!
Australia - Stay with Aborigines that we met at their place in Nimbin. Leaving their place they couldn't possibly let us stay at a hotel for the Byron Bay Blues festival with Ben Harper. We crashed at their friends house in a great place on the beach.
Fiji - Stayed with villagers on a small island for a month.
Denmark - Crashed with my sister's host families.
Spain - Surfed on my German college roommate's couch and a friend's former host family.
Ghana - Surfed on a many a couch as a Peace Corps Volunteer.
Colombia - Family of my friend's host family - four adults in one twin bed (if you wonder how that is possible, just thing Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!)

I do have a great tale of couch surfing connections. One of my best friends now lives in Costa Rica and referred me to coach surfing. She surprised me by meeting a friend of mine from the Peace Corps in Ghana who was surfing on her coach. It's a small world!

Interests

I obviously love to travel and am an avid photographer. I enjoy doing good in the world, hiking, and getting outdoors. I have a toddler and enjoy kid friendly stuff as well.

• photography
• festivals
• cooking
• recipes
• chocolate
• beer
• coffee
• coach
• reading
• tv
• traveling
• knitting
• origami
• blues
• outdoor activities
• hiking
• surfing
• volleyball
• softball
• volunteering
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

I love everything from the grit of City of God, Layer Cake, and Bathory to the chic flicks like Notting Hill and Catch and Release. I also became an Alias addict in Kabul, where devouring series is a pass time.

These days I've got a bookshelf loaded with books about Afghanistan and other areas of Asia. I've recently finished my Masters and have been reading lots on organizational change and management.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

The sun setting across the outback as we finally got our car out of bog after several hours of digging ourselves out. We were only ten kilometers from our first stop in the official outback, Birdsville. We eventually showed up; covered in mud from head to tow and looking for a beer and a shower.

Teach, Learn, Share

My most sought after skills from friends would be:
1) How to get paid to travel
2) Feng Shui and decluttering
3) Tarot card readings
4) Collage making
5) Follow-up diva - keeping up with your life

Things I'm interested in learning more about:
1) Photography - always want to learn more
2) Adventure stories - can't hear enough
3) Knitting - I'm learning but could use some help
4) Origami - I know boxes but nothing else
5) Cooking - I love new recipes

Countries I’ve Visited

Angola, Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Burundi, Canada, Colombia, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Denmark, Estonia, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Italy, Kenya, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Somalia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Viet Nam, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Countries I’ve Lived In

Afghanistan, Australia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ecuador, Fiji, Finland, Ghana, United States

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