CURRENT MISSION

to "let the beauty of what I love be what I do." (--Rumi)

ABOUT ME

I am an energetic, outgoing person who loves to learn and loves to meet people. I also love Madison and have a blast showing people around town. Languages and cultures fascinate me and I am very easy-going. I can be pretty intense sometimes, when I get interested in something. Most people describe me as dynamic and passionate. I love to travel but have not traveled as much as I'd like. Hopefully with CS that will change! I have lived in many different places around the US and traveled Europe and the Caribbean a bit.

I have also had several different careers; I don't tend to stick with one thing very long. I like to be challenged and I love the "buzz" that comes from learning something new, especially when there is a social aspect involved. If I am in a situation where I am meeting new people or working in a group/team I do much better, although I am an independent person. I just like people!

My interests include food/wine, dancing, ballet, theatre, parkour, languages, music, art, anthropology, literature, "Big Ideas"...pretty much anything. If I don't already have an interest in it, it's very likely that I will if given a chance to learn about it from someone who is passionate.

I am married to a very stable guy who is extremely intelligent. He provides a grounding force for my generally high-octane life. It is good. We have a dog that we love very much; he is easy-going and friendly. We have no children and don't plan to have any.

PHILOSOPHY

What is my personal philosophy? This is a tough one. I guess the Crash Test Dummies song, "Here On Earth (I'll Have My Cake)" sums it up best:

"Some folks say that life is just a veil of tears
Not me man I can't pack enough into these years
I don't care if it's spring summer winter or fall
Make no fuss about the seasons, 'cause I like 'em all

Here on earth I'll have my cake
Gonna eat it too, make no mistake
'Cause if it's a question of to be or not to be
I'll put on my boots and go see what I can see

My grandpa, well a good Christian life he led
Worked like a dog just to put a roof over his head
He said that when he died he'd get his reward
'Cause heaven's a place where you don't pay room & board

Here on earth I'll have my cake
Gonna eat it too, make no mistake
'Cause if it's a question of to be or not to be
I'll put on my boots and go see what I can see

When I die, I hope I don't die too slow
But slow or quick, I hope heaven is the place I go
Old St. Pete's gonna serve me my pie in the sky
And I'll say "Pete, a side of ice cream, if you don't mind."

Here on earth I'll have my cake
Gonna eat it too, make no mistake
'Cause if it's a question of to be or not to be
I'll put on my boots and go see what I can see"

Life is meant to be lived, as in, we are here to learn, to participate fully in the experience, to connect to others. Money is nice, and we live in a world where money is necessary to survival, but living a life just to get more money to live another day is not living. Life is about Being, not Doing. This may be the only ride we get, we need to say "Yes!" to it and learn and grow and experience and connect with each moment we have, because there is only a finite number of them.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I am new to the CS community but am very excited about it. The whole idea behind it is very in line with what I'm about: exploration, cooperation, connections, adventure, and the positive side of humanity. It resonates with me and I'm really looking forward to seeing where it will go. As mentioned, I love showing people around my city and enjoy hosting people when we have friends visit from out of town. I think I would have a blast opening our home to new people from around the world and getting a chance to play that role more often. I'm also very excited about the fact that CS will enable me to travel more. As mentioned I have been fascinated with the idea of travel since I was a little girl but the opportunities to do so have been difficult to realize, for various reasons. I have always felt that the "connection" piece was missing in the travel options I'd explored in the past. I am not a fan of tour groups/packages but being a social person I don't enjoy traveling on my own in a little "tourist bubble." So I hope to be able to have lots of opportunities through CS to have the travel experiences I have always wanted, and in so doing learn how to be a great host in my own town when surfers come stay with me. Also, as a teacher, I think the CS experiences will give me fantastic tools and stories to share in the classroom. I teach languages because I am passionate about human communication and intercultural experiences. What a great opportunity for me to live that!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

None so far.

Interests

Too numerous to list!

Ballet, Theatre, Dance of all kinds, Art, Literature, Food/Wine, Parkour, Yoga, Languages, Literature, History, Gardening... The list goes on.

• dogs
• arts
• writing
• literature
• beauty
• dancing
• ballet dancing
• dining
• wine
• yoga
• partying
• drinking
• gardening
• traveling
• socializing
• survival
• music
• anthropology
• teaching
• history
• languages

Music, Movies, and Books

Books: Snow Crash, Le Petit Prince, Les Mandarins, biographies, historical fiction (based on biographies especially), What is the What, um... there are hundreds of books I enjoy. I like books that make me think without being overly pretentious. I like books that make me feel without being schlocky or formulaic. I like books that give me a window into another part of the world.
Music: The list of music I *don't* like is shorter. I don't like music that is the aural equivalent of Rice-A-Roni; in other words, something processed and engineered for quick, thoughtless, empty consumption. There are songs and artists I like in *every* genre, however.
Movies: Quirky, thoughtful movies. Funny movies. Action/adventure movies. I hate romantic comedies unless they are very intelligent. Good writing and good editing make me like a movie.

I just realized this probably is terribly uninformative, but if I were to put it into list form it would go on forever, and trying to define my tastes in terms of general themes is incredibly abstract.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I worked for the G-8 Summit when it was in Denver, Colorado; and got to meet the heads of the G-8 Nations, several celebrities including Chuck Berry, Kool & the Gang, Eartha Kitt, Lyle Lovett, Amy Grant, and others. I also taught several suburban moms how to smoke cigars and drink single-malt scotch at the after-party. I also had a very short professional ballet career with a small but accomplished ballet company; which was fun and exciting. I now teach for the company school. I am currently writing a cookbook and have been known to engage in rogue large-scale catering assignments from time to time (100-person banquet, 6-person private VIP dinner, etc.) just for fun.

Teach, Learn, Share

(more to come soon when I have had more CS experiences...stay tuned!)

Countries I’ve Visited

France, Jamaica, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States

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