I am an attorney in my 60s, living in a small suburb an hour-plus west of Chicago. I studied physiology and worked for 10 years in a hospital before branching out into technical editing. In my 40s, I received my law degree and now practice part-time. My academic interest is in international humanitarian law, but for the last 4 years I have been working on insurance fraud cases.

My husband and I bought a large property built in 1908 and are in the process of restoring it to its former glory. We have 3 adult children and 7 grandchildren. I like cooking and drinking good wine. I collect pendulum clocks and glassware from the first half of the 20th century.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I have been a long-time host through Servas, but Couchsurfing is active in several countries where Servas no longer has a presence. When I travel, I much prefer talking to people than visiting monuments and museums. I like to do ordinary things, activities that the host would be doing anyway. Some of my favorite memories are of acccompanying a Servas member to a doctor's appointment in Slovakia, going to Muslim wedding reception in Kosovo, and speaking Spanish at a language class for retired people in Belgium (and learning some Flemish in the process). I hope to continue to find experiences like this on my next adventure.

Interests

I am passionate about human rights, both domestic and international. I have been published in the areas of civil penalties for violations of international criminal law, analysis of war crimes trials, and lack of medical care as a war crime. I also collect postcards through Postcrossing. I have sent and received over 4,000 postcards in the last 5 years. My husband and I have an old Corvette that is so much fun to drive and ride in; we sometimes go on short caravan trips with other Corvette owners.

• human rights
• postcards
• corvettes

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Bermuda, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Cayman Islands, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Curaçao, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guernsey, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Jersey, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macao, Macedonia, Mexico, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Russian Federation, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin (French part), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Serbia, Sint Maarten (Dutch part), Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, United Kingdom, Venezuela

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, Italy, Mexico, United States