CURRENT MISSION

soulful adventures, from digging in my backyard dirt to climbing the trees at the ends of the earth, with giggles and happy woofs for all!

ABOUT ME

A good Midwestern daughter, raised in a small Norwegian community in Wisconsin to practice radical kindness, extensive gardening, and prolific baking. I'm currently completing my dissertation on the politics of Mexican peasant agriculture in the Geography and Women's Studies Departments at the Pennsylvania State University.

PHILOSOPHY

Try to be the person my dog believes me to be. And always, always, make my sister laugh.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I am a new member to Couchsurfing, though I have lived for many years in a Couchsurfing host house and have had the honor and delight of hosting many travelers. For the moment, I'm a surfer in need of a couch, though I look forward to becoming a host as soon as I've got a couch to call my own :o)

Interests

I have an ardent love of baking (pies!) and gardening (beets! green beans! cabbage!), bestowed from my Grandmother, and of trees, from my Grandfather. Couchsurfing, as both a host and a guest, has offered a sublime opportunity to share bread and beer with new and fabulous folks.

• dogs
• beer
• baking
• gardening
• politics
• rock climbing
• agriculture
• geography

Music, Movies, and Books

I've found I get captivated by music that has a dark, gritty edge, regardless of genre, though I am especially in love with delta blues, chicago jazz, and irish fiddling. I love listening to a complete album on repeat for days at a time until I know every beat by heart. Perhaps this is a holdover from my years in an orchestra, where you learn each piece inside out and upside down... Some absolute favorites are: Hypnotic Brass Ensemble (8 brothers from Chicago!), Chris Thomas King, Martin Hayes, Janelle Monae, the Carolina Chocolate Drops, and Valerie June. All of my music has been inherited from friends and love ones in one way or another, and I love passing along names of my favorite artists when I meet new friends!

Books... oh my! Making a list of favorites is torture, but I'll write down the ones I'm looking at on the shelf right now that I could not live without: Linda Gregerson's poems, especially The Woman Who Died in Her Sleep; Jasbir Puar's Terrorist Assemblages - Homonationalism in Queer Times; The People Could Fly (slave stories from the American South); Alice in Wonderland; and a 600 page book on maize genetic diversity in Mexico :o)

I'm a bad movie watcher. Like, terrible. I can't sit still, unless I'm watching at the behest of a loved one, in which case I try REALLY hard, because I love them. So, I need peer-pressure from wise and wonderful movie watchers to make me watch all the amazing films I'm missing out on...

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, Czech Republic, Dominica, Ecuador, England, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, Norway, Peru, Scotland, Spain, Timor-Leste (East Timor)

Countries I’ve Lived In

Mexico, United States