CURRENT MISSION

I love meeting new people. I am a firm believer in having as many experiences as you can and loving people of all walks of life. I don't want to be on my deathbed and contemplate a meager existence.

ABOUT ME

I like the smell of raw potatoes.

PHILOSOPHY

Let peace start with me.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I would love to host anyone who wants to visit good ol' Chicago and I look forward to meeting other couchsurfers during my adventures, and sharing yours!

I must make note here: I am the type of host that wants to hang out with you and really give you a feel for my city. If you are just looking for a couch to crash on, please consider another host. My home is not a hostel; I want to build friendships with my surfers. I want to have enough time to take you out and give you the real thing.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I've only officially, I suppose, surfed in New Orleans. I stayed with my friend Tony, who I met through a mutual friend. Amazing experience!!

Otherwise I like to leave in the middle of the night, usually without notice and just drive wherever. I sleep in my car, swim in lakes for a bath and drink too much gas station coffee.

I have hosted 7 surfers so far. Everyone has been such a pleasure! Each person has taught me so much and I keep in touch with most of them.

Interests

I need to start painting again... I love photography and anything artsy-fartsy or crafty. I am working on a series of photojournalism stories to (hopefully) publish and gain awareness and action. I really enjoy laughing and being my bubbly self around people. I love reading historical fiction.

• photography
• dining
• coffee
• drinking
• boating
• reading
• painting
• swimming
• lakes

Music, Movies, and Books

Right now I'm reading:
You Can't Win
Red Earth and Pouring Rain
A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn

I just finished a book called "Reservation Blues". READ IT!

I love old-timey music like Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald, Bessie Smith, and Franky Blue-eyes Sinatra (my boyfriend)

Also: Mercury Rev; Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young; Mason Jennings, William Elliot Whitmore and Air. etc etc.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I stayed in a squat in New Orleans and ate dumpster food with my hosts.
Found a shrimp boat on the Mississippi delta and hitched a ride, I worked for 22 hours on that boat... one of the best sunrises I've witnessed.
I drove to South Dakota in the middle of the night to watch the sun set over the Badlands, looked at the stars with a fellow traveler from New York, and turned around to go home.
Lived in São Paulo, Brazil for a month to photograph the favelas and found when I left that it felt like home.
I was next to my father to hear his last words before he died. He could hardly talk, but when one of his friends who came to visit asked my dad if he remembered the Beatles (my dad was dying of brain cancer) my dad spoke very slowly and softly: "When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me". I will never forget that.

Countries I’ve Visited

Brazil, France, Germany, Italy

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States