CURRENT MISSION
it depends
:)

ABOUT ME

NOTE: Moved out of the DC area in fall 2019....a bit nomadic at the moment, but keeping Arlington, VA on the profile as it's the place I'm most familiar with since I've most recently been there. Can't host at the moment.

...yes, I left the "promised land" (to quote someone from DC) of California for the east coast, but it's not so bad- actually it's really good! Or so I have to sometimes explain to east coasters! :) 

Besides having a soft spot for the east coast (and most any coast really...actually, places near some form of water in general), I'm also known to get really excited about food (the cooking and the eating of it!), the outdoors (love to hike and camp/backpack and hoping to do more of other things, like sea kayaking, etc.), and having good conversations (about lots of things).

PHILOSOPHY
Love is a verb; Play outside

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

very + experience with CS so far...thankful to have met lots of fantastic people and made some friends that I hope will be lifelong...pretty life changing...sad to see and hear CS being talked about as the "free version of AirBandB" from different sources (and even on the CS site itself?!)...

To me CS is not about a free place to crash....often end up telling people who are interested in joining CS that no, it's not so you can save on accommodation costs, it's really about building a community and friendships...it's about learning about and learning from people and places wherever you go (and vice versa)...

Interests

fresh produce, dark chocolate, most all things dairy, bbqs, picnics, potlucks, 4 seasons, being outdoors, hiking, backpacking/camping, sea/lake kayaking, winter sports, mountains, oceans, lakes, seas, coasts, gardens and gardening, food, cooking, farmers markets, museums/galleries, plays, musicals, public radio, music (lots of types), talking, listening, playing, dancing, laughing, exploring, cultures, God, cities and open spaces and everything in between, public spaces, community and economic development, conservation, and more...

• dancing
• cooking
• music
• hiking
• kayaking
• camping
• skiing

Music, Movies, and Books

Some movies I like: Lion, LaLa Land, the Martian, Interstellar, It's a Wonderful Life, About a Boy, The Artist, Winged Migration, Inception, Ocho Apellidos Vascos, Singing in the Rain, Before Sunrise series, Maelstrom, Gran Torino, Frozen, Midnight in Paris, Les Intouchables, Rivers and Tides (about Andy Goldsworthy), Babette's Feast, the Lord of the Rings series, Juno, Meru, Theory of Everything, The Salt of the Earth...

Like lots of kinds of music but not a fan of heavy metal or reggaeton.

Some books I like: biographies like the Rise of Theodore Roosevelt; memoirs like My Life in France and Ghost Boy (Martin Pistorius); nonfiction; books on food/environment; Animal, Vegetable, Miracle; books by Henri Nouwen; The Little Prince; The Alchemist, books by Michael Pollan, C.S. Lewis...random food or travel blogs...

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

some brilliant people and places:

chasing and seeing the Northern Lights near Jökulsárlón while traveling with CSers (my first CS experience!)

growing food at an urban farm/community garden right next to a metro station in DC.

meeting some wonderful people at a 10 star hostel (it was that good) on Sao Miguel...road tripping and exploring that magical island together...

Teach, Learn, Share

can teach/show:
some cooking/baking
great hiking/trekking spots

want to learn:
lots, but especially to play acoustic guitar, drive a manual transmission, sew and knit, languages, backcountry/telemark skiing (I'm a novice cross country skier and intermediate downhill skier), recipes/cooking from around the world, eskimo roll (kayaking, not the sushi kind)...

share:
food
stories
adventures- esp. ones that involve nature/outdoors...or ones that involve good food...or both :)

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Ecuador, Italy, Spain, United States

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