CURRENT MISSION

Part of the Surfer's Swell

ABOUT ME

I love hiking, volcanoes, museums, pyramids, sky phenomena, and foxes. I write; I photograph; I doodle. I like to hear what drives people, and listen to their stories. Also, I'm a synesthetic and an Honorary Kentucky Colonel. You may visit my website at www.amarisketcham.com

PHILOSOPHY

Risk wisdom.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I used to attend Spokane's 3rd Sunday Potlucks, and I'm looking for something like that where ever I am. I've surfed, hosted, learned, taught, shared, and engaged with the CS community. And I'm looking to continue this pattern.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I couch surfed in parts of Guatemala, went to trova concerts with one hostess and had a Beatles sing-along with another. I've also surfed in Washington State, gone to Shakespeare in the park and parades with hosts. Because I've had such fortunate experiences, when I meet people, I try to reciprocate by taking them to art shows or blues jams or whatever interests us in the moment.

Interests

The visual & the tactile. The rhythm of walking. Bird songs. Folk sayings and lore.

• arts
• literature
• poetry
• singing
• concerts
• running
• walking
• socializing
• blogging
• blues
• hiking
• rock climbing
• swimming
• tourism

Music, Movies, and Books

Any Latin American literature and a fair amount of North American literature. Poetry. Blues. Songs about bandits. Most films.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I once went on a tour of the Tres Marías Caves in Semuc Champey, Guatemala, which have water running through them. We entered with candles and had to swim, keeping our little lights of ours lit, frog-stroking with one hand. For a while, we alternated swimming with climbing up and over and through cave obstacles (i.e. formations). We mounted ladders that were rope and metal pipes held together with electrical tape. The cave, like the rainforest, was slippery. We went under a waterfall, and I felt as though I would drown while standing as the fast water pummeling my face, unable to see (due to water and cave darkness, since the candles had no hope of staying lit here).

Then we climbed up the waterfall on of those makeshift ladders. I heard later from other tourists that their tour didn’t include this portion, that their guides said it was too dangerous to go up that ladder, that people had to be carried out of the cave because their legs had given out. But our guide gave no indication of danger, and we followed him up. I felt like a twelve-year old girl again, exploring with this guide.

Naturally, we exited the way we came, our candles falling apart or burned all the way down. There is something amazing about walking out of a cave into the daylight, your senses flooded by light and wind and the smell of the forest that lends the feeling that a holy moment has just transpired.

Teach, Learn, Share

I write for an arts and literature blog called bark and participate in a bimonthly poetry project called Divided Backs.
I take a lot of photos, some of which are posted on pictryp or Snapped Syntax. I'm interested in all kinds of things and willing to share my knowledge and learn whatever you have to teach.

Countries I’ve Visited

Costa Rica, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Mexico

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States

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