CURRENT MISSION

Always: see, understand, share... I'm on a mission to smile in odd places.

ABOUT ME

I love to travel as a way to know people and where they come from. I enjoy work (usually) if I can do it outside in particular! I've spent about 3 years altogether working in camping. Right now I'm a case manager, but only until I take off again, who knows when :)

PHILOSOPHY

I live this life because God created me to enjoy this body and place to bring him glory. I'm grateful for the chance to see beauty in people's eyes and in a sunrise. And I like people :) Caveat: Mornings are not people-time, and as an introvert I believe there is definitely such a thing as too much peopleness!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I'm thinking that right now while I'm in southern Michigan I can take a fellow traveler out for coffee or dinner; maybe show them around town and swap stories! Someday later I'm thinking of being a traveler on the circuit myself as well.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

My first was Boston, where a friend of a friend offered her couch to me and 3 of my friends going on an amazing roadtrip through New England in 2004. I love crashing on couches (or rather, spaces) and sharing awesome memories. Fall of 2008 I spent visiting friends and friends of friends in Tanzania, Morocco, Spain, France, and Luxembourg. It was an experience that reminded me (as if I could forget) how much I love visiting with people and seeing beautiful views!

Interests

reading, capturing moments in time, hiking, biking, running, writing, dancing, music(king?), volunteering..oh yeah, traveling :)

• writing
• beauty
• dancing
• coffee
• running
• reading
• traveling
• music
• cycling
• hiking
• kayaking
• camping
• sailing
• skiing
• volunteering

Music, Movies, and Books

Iron and Wine, Burlap to Cashmere, Styx, Feist, Old Crow Medicine Show, Peter-PaulandMary, U2, The Avett Brothers, Jake Shimabukuro, John Denver, Arcade Fire, Jars of Clay, Glen Hansard, Jack Johnson, Sting, Three Cups of Tea, Hind's Feet on High Places, The Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Christie, Lord of the Rings, Dune, A Thousand Splendid Suns, The House on Pooh Corner, Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late, The Count of Monte Cristo, Pride and Prejudice, Shantaram, Traveling Mercies...I'm a dreamer at heart but a realist in the head :)

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I have stayed with a small family on the side of a mountain in Sichuan Province, China.

Ooh! And I have metal rods in my back. I'll tell you more if you want to know. But basically scars are among my favorite conversation-starters.

Teach, Learn, Share

I've taught computers, skiing, skating, kayaking, sailing, and downtown city navigation. I like to teach. It's almost as cool as learning.

I like conversation partners, and was an English major in college. Would like to improve my Spanish and Chinese as well.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Mexico, Morocco, Spain, Tanzania

Countries I’ve Lived In

China, United States