I've been on quite the journey the past couple years, delving into a rich web of interconnected interests…some that blossomed while I was CouchSurfing! My big current interests are in cooking, grassroots sustainability, activism, facilitation, mediation, urban planning, permaculture, climate adaptation, nature connection, functional fitness & parkour, Vipassana meditation, fermentation, and some others!

I live in a proof-of-concept urban sustainability center, consisting of a bunch of tiny homes situated in a garden, where before there was an industrial fabrication site. My current projects are co-hosting a monthly meditation circle, facilitating a Nonviolent Communication practice group, working in climate resilience planning for the city of Alameda, and fermenting as many vegetables as I can get my hands on.

I consider myself warm and easygoing. I love conversation, and can be as quiet or as gregarious as suits the mood. I have great respect for travelers and hosts, having been in both situations myself. I am ever curious and love meeting new people!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

As I explained in my opening letter, I am on CouchSurfing in order to find a cozy home while I take a peer coaching intensive for social changemakers and climate activists in Sacramento. My participation in the workshop will unfortunately not leave me with much time to share with my host. However I expect the days I am there to be incredibly rich with learning, and I would love to share what I'm able to with my host. Also, I see the learning I am taking on as a necessary part of working toward sustainability and justice in the world, so I imagine that those who share those goals might be interested in hosting me!

Thank you so much for your consideration! Much love =)

Interests

I love to use my body—hiking, running, massage, yoga, dancing, basketball, soccer even though I'm crappy at it. I also love to use my brain! There are few things I enjoy more than philosophizing, amiable debate, and any kind of imaginative conversation.

Most of all, though, I like to play! My favorite friendships are with people who can boogie to the radio when stuck in traffic, who make up silly songs to beat box jams, who climb trees and sprint down sand dunes for nothing more than the joy that enjoying your body and the outside world can bring =)

Other interests: sustainability, transportation + housing, China, languages relational + nondualist philosophies.

• make up
• dancing
• cooking
• yoga
• running
• sprinting
• traveling
• camping
• sports
• basketball
• boxing
• soccer
• badminton
• history
• languages
• wwoof

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: All over. '90s music like Incubus, Nirvana, Red Hot Chili Peppers…trip hop recently like Portishead, Massive Attack…classical guitar like John Williams, Segovia…oldies like Grateful Dead, the Beatles, Eric Clapton. I love the Buena Vista Social Club, and my most played artist of the last five years, several times over, is Nujabes.

Movies: Don't watch movies much. No TV at all. I didn't have a TV growing up, so didn't have the habit, and in college I always felt too busy. However I've watched all the Miyazaki films and I enjoyed those quite a lot.

Books: Classic sci fi and fantasy when I was pre teen and teen; in college mostly nonfiction. Currently reading a lot of nonfiction in the fields of multi-stakeholder collaboration, restoration ecology, permaculture, etc.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I was once ranked #1 in the United States for my age for the sport of badminton! But that was a long time ago…

Less unique things…I spent two summers working in Beijing. I helped persuade Pitzer College's trustees to divest the college's investment portfolio of fossil fuels. It was a big deal! Pitzer at the time had I believe the largest endowment of any college that had divested.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Conversation, cooking, stories, spirit of adventure, passion for my interests, massages (????), lots of smiles and enthusiasm =)

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, China, Cuba, England, France, Germany, Mexico, Netherlands, Puerto Rico, Spain

Countries I’ve Lived In

China, Cuba, Spain, United States