CURRENT MISSION

new world old world

ABOUT ME

I live and work in Ithaca and grew up in Illinois. I like to cycle, dance, cook, put together amateur theatre, talk politics or linguistics, play piano and mbira, drink tea, sip beer.

I've studied Geography and worked in International Development. I spent two years in Senegal, and worked in Ghana and Nigeria. The people, languages, music, food, and social issues of West Africa are important to me.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

People have been incredibly hospitable and open everywhere I've traveled. Couchsurf-hosting is a way to return the favor.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have couchsurfed in Seattle, Portland, England, and Senegal. Amazing hosts have shared with me their recipes, stories, drinking holes, and secret berry-picking spots.

Interests

Bread-baking, yogurt-making, dancing (capoeira, tango, mbalax, contra), environments, languages, bike trips, hill-walking, village life, chatting, tea-pouring, political ecology, African music, classical piano, mbira.

• dancing
• tango
• capoeira
• dining
• cooking
• recipes
• beer
• baking
• walking
• drinking
• politics
• music
• piano
• cycling
• ecology
• geography
• languages
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: Habib Koité, Josh Ritter, Cake, Brahms, Baaba Maal, Boubacar Traore, Cheikh Lo, Fela Kuti, Thomas Mapfumo, Ali Farka Toure, The Wandering Sons, Ben Folds, Radiohead, Yann Tiersen, Schumann, Beethoven, Chopin.

Radio shows: PRI's The World, This American Life, A Prairie Home Companion.

Books: A Tale of Two Cities, River Town, Prodigal Summer, The Heart of the Matter, On Being Free, Grendel, Nightwatch, Les bous de bois de Dieu.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

My friend and I walked along the riverbed of the Nfiss River in Western Morocco. We saw children playing in the water and people bringing water to their gardens. There were groves of almond trees at the foot of dry, orange mountains. It was the most beautiful place I've seen.

Teach, Learn, Share

I love learning languages. I speak French, Wolof and some Pular (Fuuta Jallon dialect). I'm no expert, but I love to marvel at and debate language and how it shapes life.

Countries I’ve Visited

Morocco

Countries I’ve Lived In

Panama, Senegal, United States

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