CURRENT MISSION

Learn, learn, learn....

ABOUT ME

Teacher for life; fierce environmentalist; professional Japanese language geek; traveller to places both obvious and wacky; newly initiated sea kayaker; ex-kitchen wench to the theatrical and famous; lover of the outdoors; baker of all things good and sweet; befriender of children, animals and old ladies; player of music; believer in writing, love, friendship and the power of ordinary people; feminist; closet vegan with a love for pulled pork; wannabe rollergirl; noctambulist.

PHILOSOPHY

"If you conform to the world, it will bind you hand and foot."

"Even as we are, we are becoming."

All kinds of things uttered by Sarah Kay:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0snNB1yS3IE

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

With a smile and an open mind.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I LOVE meeting new people and visiting places both for the first time and for the hundredth time. CouchSurfing has helped me do all of the above, without breaking the bank and I enjoy having a place to host more old and new friends.

Interests

Other people, music, travelling, making new friends, family, cooking for and feeding others, books and reading, trees, all things Japanese, tea, sheesha, cycling, the smell of cedar, writing, vegan and vegetarian food, cities, wildernesses, spending time alone and spending time with others.

• animals
• writing
• books
• dining
• cooking
• vegetarian
• vegan
• reading
• traveling
• music
• outdoor activities
• cycling
• kayaking
• camping
• cartography
• teaching

Music, Movies, and Books

I am not so much of a movie and TV person these days but some things will always stand out for me as really great: La vita e bella, The Hours, Were the World Mine, The West Wing, This Week, Transparent, Elementary, The Fosters, The Handmaid's Tale

Music: FOLK!!! Seize the Day (being my favourite folk band of all time), Ani DiFranco, Indigo Girls, Hawksley Workman, Shane Koyczan, Missy Higgins...

Books: too many to list! Toni Morrison and Carol Ann Duffy are two of my favourite authors, for sure.
Some of the best books I've ever read?
A Room of One’s Own – Virginia Woolf
Bleak House – Charles Dickens
State of Wonder – Ann Patchett
Moon tiger – Penelope Lively
The Color Purple – Alice Walker
The God of Small Things – Arundhati Roy
A girl could stand up – Lesley Marshall

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Seeing a bear, in the wild, for the first (and only) time.

Being a part of Hokkaido English Challenge Camp.

Managing to be brave and do things which I want to do, even if they scare me a little or are way outside my comfort zone...

Making my own way, even when it's tough! Living and learning <3

Teach, Learn, Share

"Satellite images...maps and blueprints of the whole world, of every city. We could go and look it up and know what's there in someone else's words, or we could get wicked drunk and just GO."

What I Can Share with Hosts

Stories, cups of tea, giggles! English, if you're wanting to practice :) and basic Japanese, for that matter.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Montenegro, Netherlands, Poland, Saint Lucia, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uzbekistan

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, China, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Poland, United Kingdom