CURRENT MISSION

Enjoying the first trip out of the States since Summer 2014 - Budapest,
Vienna, Prague. Letting go of the grind from this previous semester, meeting up
with old friends who may be lurking around Europe, making some new ones...?

ABOUT ME

As stated above, I've got 1 more semester to go in a graduate program for Speech Language Pathology. Just finished a 4 month placement in a rural hospital - a hilarious/heartbreaking/disgusting/fascinating look into the physical and spiritual ailments of the American public. So ready to be done with these night classes and back out in the world (I was a Spanish/ESL teacher and fledgling writer for a few years after finishing my undergrad, moved to Spain and taught in Granada for a while, then moved to Nashville...).

I play drums and sing in a 3 piece original rock band and also in a 90's TV show theme song cover band (anybody remember 'Full House' or 'Family Matters'..? Currently don't have a ton of time for that as I'm doing full time clinical placements during the day and full time class at night. Yikes. Enough of that.

Travel. I miss that alot. My mom invited me to come with her on this month long
trip and, while I greatly enjoy her company (most of the time ^.^), I'd also like to
meet some locals closer to my age - Musicians, artists, travelers, linguists, sports lovers, party animals, cooks, conversationalists, oh my.

PHILOSOPHY

Put yourself out there. It's the content of the shared experiences, not the length of time, that measures the value of a friendship.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I go to the occasional CS meeting here in Nashville, but generally I like to host creative fun types/people whose countries I may never get the chance to visit.

Couchsurfing played a big part in moving to Nashville - I surfed for the first time, met some awesome people here and stayed for 10 days, returned a few weeks later, unpacked and found a house.

People whine about how "CS has changed and...", but I'm still glad that some kind of platform like this exists. What better way to get some real perspective on a new place? Despite language barriers, logistical difficulties, sparse free time and such, I can say that I've met and kept in contact with a lot of great people on here.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

all the way from lukewarm to life changing...usually closer to the latter

Interests

Lots...: music (playing, listening, dancing to, seeing live, arguing about...), traveling, reading, drinking, dancing, running, writing, languages, cooking, boxing, soccer, languages, medicine, this is getting very general...but I absolutely meant everything up there.

• animals
• writing
• singing
• architecture
• dancing
• dining
• cooking
• running
• partying
• drinking
• reading
• tv
• traveling
• music
• drums
• backpacking
• sports
• boxing
• soccer
• teaching
• languages
• medicine

Music, Movies, and Books

Ok most recent/off the top of my head books:

Lonesome Dove series
Shogun + Tai Pan and the Samurai Chronicles
Vampire Chronicles (Anne Rice, not that new shit)
Their Eyes Were Watching God
Devil in the White City
The Prophet

....and music that I've actually been listening to recently:

Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings/Amy Winehouse
Iggy Pop and the Stooges/Velvet Underground/David Bowie (the holy trinity)
Jenny Lewis
Dr. Dog
D'Angelo
Talking Heads
Tom Waits .... what's he BUILDing in therrrre...?
Those Darlins/Richie/Tristen (all local Nashville artists, PLEASE check them out)

I have an extensive collection of VHS. Some of it is fun/random garbage, some of it is...very prized.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Been lucky enough to witness some of the best music I've ever seen here in Nashville. Some random thoughts below...

Watched fancy dressed Chinese people clap off beat at Elvis' 75th posthumous birthday celebration in Hong Kong, then stood over Victoria bay and watched the New Years light show go off on massive buildings across the water....stayed out till sunrise drinking and dancing with students and co-workers of the little mountain town I worked in outside of Granada. Lived in San Miguel, Mexico for a Summer when I was 7 and roamed the streets with my two best friends. Swam in the freezing waters of Barton Springs in Austin while white blossoms floated above. Surfed in the salty water in San Diego and listened to the waves crash from my balcony there. Took a tiny rickety train to the French town my dad lived in 55 years ago then wandered around in the snow till we found his house. Listened to my 12 year old Spanish students tell some of the filthiest jokes I've ever heard during my 'fiesta de despedida'....drove to Bonnaroo in 2005, alone and stocked only with peanut-butter sandwiches, a case of Red Bull, and budweiser poured into water bottles then stood in a crowd of 100,000 people and watched glow sticks rain down from the sky while Radiohead played a 3 hour set of my favorite favorite music. Treated dieing patients at the hospital in Gallatin, Tennessee and counseled their families. Picked up a completely new skill set/career in my late 20's and not regretted it.

Moved to San Diego with 4 boxes and a trashbag at the age of 17...then to Spain after college with no idea how to find a place to live...then to Nashville with the vague intention of teaching and finding a band to play in.

Teach, Learn, Share

?

What I Can Share with Hosts

Not really looking to stay AT someone's place right now, but I'd love to meet some folks and hang out some.

What I can share...? hmmm my American-ness and disappointment with the current political climate there. My love for music and conversation, my limited but effective cooking skills, my genuine interest in meeting new people and sharing experiences. Seriously, the architecture and the food and the time away from normality (and lugging the backpack and waterbottle around...) are great, but it's the PEOPLE that make the trip.

If we get along maybe you can come visit Nashville and I can show you around and talk your ear off about how great/terrible that and that and the other thing are.

Countries I’ve Visited

China, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Philippines, Portugal, Spain, Sweden

Countries I’ve Lived In

Mexico, Spain, United States

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