FIRST OF ALL, I HAVE BEEN VERIFIED ON COUCHSURFING 4 TIMES! Every time the verification expires, the cost of becoming verified again increases, and my profile has disappeared three times over the last decade. I was one of the original members back in 2004, and was invested in the original purpose of people who were genuinely interested in cultural exchange and making new friends and creating community and understanding among nations. That is what I think it should still be about. Since then, the site has become about making a profit for the person who purchased it from the original creator - which is why it now costs so much to become verified and people are told 'pay up and you can stay for free anywhere in the world' - hence all the empty profiles, which would never have been permitted in the original group. So, I still subscribe to the original pay-it-forward, global community, international exchange and understanding ethos of the Couchsurfing phenomenon. And I will not continue to pay over and over again to become re-verified, because that is not what this group was supposed to be about.
I am a quiet, mature, spiritually-focused holistic counsellor/life coach/ Reiki practitioner/ spiritual facilitator who listens mostly to classical music. I like to have fun, but not with loud music, drugs, or more booze than the occasional glass of wine with a nice dinner. A fun time for me is going to a temple or energy vortex and meditating, singing choral music, a spiritual workshop or circle, discussing almost anything deeply, going to a folk festival or drum circle or Reiki share or pow-wow, working or volunteering in another part of the world. I enjoy community activism, volunteerism, and generally being involved in my community (although I loathe "meetings"!) If you are spiritually-focussed, community-minded, artsy-fartsy and somewhat granola-centric we will get along famously!
I have just moved into a very old house in Windsor, and am on a steep learning curve with respect to the care and feeding of a century home. Once I get unpacked and settled in, I look forward to beginning to host new friends again. I have enjoyed hosting people from all over the world in the past (unfortunately, that profile got erased when CS went to a for-profit format), and always enjoy learning about where people come from. I loved being a 'tatami timeshare' host when I was living and working in Japan. I am happy to meet up with travellers and show them around, at least to the extent that I know about the city I have only lived in for a couple of weeks!!
Also BTW, I just noticed that my profile says I have a 0 % response rate. Actually, I have responded to every message I have received, although via email, so I guess this system did not pick up on that!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I love meeting and getting to know new people, especially folks from other parts of the world. Anyone can stay comfortably in a hotel, but that only allows one to meet people superficially. Staying with people and families from other places allows me to experience more about the place I am visiting, and hosting guests gives me an opportunity to learn more about different parts of the world and what its people are like. Did I mention I love sharing stories? Also really enjoy cooking with guests, especially learning new recipes from different parts of the world. I have made some fantastic friends through Couchsurfing!

Interests

Travel, obviously - why else are any of us on here? I have a black and white map of the world, and each time I visit a country, I colour it in. One of my life goals is to have all of it coloured in before I die. Love spirituality in all its wonderfully variegated forms, community activism and volunteer work, angel and medicine card readings, shamanic journeying, folk dance, classical concerts, folk festivals, choral singing, walking or meditating by the river, yoga, drum circles, pow-wows, and my writing group. In addition to travelling myself, I always very much enjoy meeting people from other places and learning about their cultures and customs. And food! I have a passion for international cooking and learning new things. People are just endlessly fascinating!

• writing
• singing
• concerts
• festivals
• dancing
• dining
• cooking
• recipes
• wine
• yoga
• coach
• walking
• traveling
• volunteer work
• socializing
• music
• classical music
• medicine
• volunteering

Music, Movies, and Books

Classical; folk, especially folk festivals. I read voraciously and eclectically - 'genre' doesn't matter, as long as it's well-written, although I do have a lot of science fiction and humour on my 'just for fun' shelves. I tend to prefer film to movies: I have enjoyed a few box office hits (notably Harry Potter and Star Trek), but for the most part, the films I love have subtitles. I am pretty eclectic in my tastes.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I taught English in Japan for three years, then stayed an extra year to help take care of my boyfriend's elderly mother after his father died. It was the most amazing experience of my life! I was so grateful to have been placed in a small rural town, where I could really become part of the community. And absolutely adored my Japanese extended family!
Another memory that will always stay with me: I was travelling in Costa Rica during the rainy season, and we were up in Monte Verde, a cloud forest preserve. Since rain clouds are low lying, at night we were up above the clouds. I will never forget the breathtaking sight of the incredibly clear view of the milky Way in the crystal clear night sky (much clearer than the view from anywhere else I have been, since we were at such a high altitude), while at least half a dozen thunderstorms were going on BELOW us - seeing storm systems from above, while under a brilliantly clear night sky, is a sight I will never forget!
More recently, something that other people were kind enough to think was amazing: we recently had a major flood in Windsor where I live, and over 6,000 homes were damaged or destroyed from basement flooding and raw sewage. Worst hit were families who rented basement apartments and lost everything they owned, with no resources to replace their belongings. My Pay-it-Forward group mobilized to do what we could to obtain what people needed most, and I cooked dozens of casseroles and baked many batches of muffins and banana bread to help feed people who were displaced from their kitchens. A truly amazing and wonderful experience to see the community of mostly people who had not a lot themselves mobilizing to help each other out. It was a wonderful thing to be a part of!

Teach, Learn, Share

I believe one has something to learn from, and to teach, every person one meets. Every single human interaction is a gift for me. Love to teach and learn all things spiritual, musical, and cooking related! And love to tell stories and listen to storytellers.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I am a polite and considerate guest, always bring some sort of token gift, and help with chores - at the very least, if you invite me for a meal, I will insist on doing the dishes. I love to share stories, especially of travel. Nearly always travel with at least one set of divination cards and am happy to do readings. In general, I love learning, teaching, and sharing stories and ideas. And cooking! It is always so much fun to learn to cook new dishes from other parts of the world, or teach someone one of my favourite recipes. The opportunity to learn about other cultures is such a blessing of the time we live in!

Countries I’ve Visited

Costa Rica, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, Japan, United Kingdom, United States