CURRENT MISSION

My mission is to figure out what my mission is....

ABOUT ME

I grew up in the South, went to school in California, and now live in Manhattan. What this means: sweet southern belle + laid back gal + fun-loving = me! I am loving the single life in the best city in the world (that's NYC, in case you were wondering). Having lived in NYC for many years now, I am excited to experience it anew with travelers from foreign lands.

PHILOSOPHY

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. -Mark Twain

Improv Everywhere once did a hilarious mission where they welcomed home complete strangers at JFK airport. Imagine you've just gotten off a long international flight, and a group of 30 people whom you've never met are in the terminal yelling "Welcome Home, Rachel!," giving you flowers, and holding up signs that say "We missed you!" That's kind of how I view CouchSurfing: welcoming total strangers into your home and treating them like esteemed guests. It's a beautiful idea and a way to make the world a better place. It could possibly even lead to world peace.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Hosting total strangers in your home for free is one of the most generous things a person can do. I am truly touched by the kindness and generosity shown to me by all my hosts. I would have been lonely and bored had I not found the amazing CouchSurfing community of Buenos Aires!

Surfed:
Carina in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Celia and Morgan in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Ines and Jhose in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Caro and Stef in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Francisco in Salinas, Ecuador

Hosted:
Bertrand from Lille, France
Sander and Maartje from Utrecht, Netherlands
Christine from Vancouver, Canada
Kerstin from Vienna, Austria
Alessandro and Sara from Rome, Italy
Nicole from Hannover, Germany
Yael from Jerusalem, Israel
Jeff from Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Daniele from Rome, Italy
David from Paris, France
Yiqin from Singapore
Cameron from Perth, Australia
Elad from Ramat Gan, Israel
Aviram from Rishon Le Zion, Israel
Lie from Antwerp, Belgium
Nadav from Tel Aviv, Israel
Brad from Glencoe, IL, USA
Lou and Alessandro from Bologna, Italy
Francisco from Guayaquil, Ecuador (whose couch I surfed in Salinas!)

Interests

Dancing (salsa, swing, tango), travel, ping pong, rollerblading, biking, circus arts (juggling, trapeze, unicycle), learning Mandarin, researching my family genealogy, volleyball, soccer, dodgeball, camping, picnics in the park, frisbee in the park, napping in the park, discovering new and wacky activities in NYC, board games, finding free events in the city (www.freenyc.net). I'm open to trying (almost) anything once!

• arts
• dancing
• tango
• cooking
• flowers
• board games
• traveling
• juggling
• cycling
• camping
• sailing
• soccer
• volleyball
• table tennis
• cartography
• genealogy

Music, Movies, and Books

I am really into documentaries and nonfiction right now, although I'm always up to see pretty much any movie with friends.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I rode the subway with no pants on, twice! (see www.ImprovEverywhere.com). I'm doing it again on January 10, 2009.

I camped out overnight on 49th Street to get standby tickets to Saturday Night Live...and then I saw the show! I highly recommend this to any surfers who have free time available on Friday afternoon/night.

I saw the River Plate vs. Boca Juniors SuperClasico football game in Buenos Aires and was pickpocketed there...but all they got was my free tango map.

Visited the shtetls (villages) where my great grandparents grew up in Ukraine (a la "Everything is Illuminated").

Teach, Learn, Share

I'll be the first to admit that I can't cook. Gosh...I guess I could teach you a basic 3-ball juggle. Or maybe ping pong? For those in NYC, some great websites:www.hopstop.com/?city=newyork - GREAT for figuring out subway directions and estimated timewww.yelp.com/nyc - Reviews by people like you of pretty much every place in the citywww.mta.info/nyct/maps/submap.htm - Subway map. Nuf said.newyork.craigslist.org - Pretty much anything

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Austria, Bahamas, Belize, Bermuda, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Ghana, Greece, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Mexico, Morocco, Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia, Spain, Switzerland, Turks and Caicos Islands, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States

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