ABOUT ME

'Shirley' means 'from the sunny meadows' and my friends would say that's an accurate description: always smiling, ready to talk with anyone, and very much into nature and the outdoors. Peppy but not ditzy, optimistic but not blindly so: I see the good in people and temper my enthusiasm with the patience and calm of a good listener. In a recent email, a friend wrote: 'I hope you're having a blast wherever you are in the world - but then again, when are you *not* having fun?"

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Just joined - would love to start surfing, and hosting too as soon as I'm settled in one place long enough to get a place of my own.

Interests

I'm really interested in storytelling, especially in forms of creative nonfiction and documentary films - and will always say YES to hiking/backpacking trips, exploring farmer's markets, talking about social justice, and trying new physical activities: scuba diving, kickboxing, and bouldering, for example.

• documentaries
• walking
• movies
• bouldering
• outdoor activities
• hiking
• backpacking
• surfing
• scuba diving
• rock climbing
• history
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: Space Jam, Life is Beautiful
Books: The Little Prince

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Once, I went hiking in the hills bordering Sierra Leone and Guinea, and saw chimpanzees scrambling up a sheer rock face just a few hundred yards away. I also LOVED walking back and forth across the many bridges in Budapest that connect the old and new sides of the the city; the history and architectural styles represented by each bridge was stunning in their diversity.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Aruba, Austria, Bahamas, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, England, Fiji, France, Germany, Ghana, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Jamaica, Kenya, Malawi, Mexico, Morocco, Nepal, New Zealand, Panama, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Scotland, Serbia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Vatican City State, Virgin Islands, U.S.

Countries I’ve Lived In

Sierra Leone, United States