CURRENT MISSION

To be the sort of people the world will miss when we are gone

ABOUT ME

Karl and Kimbi met while Contra dancing. For the unitiated... Have you ever seen one of those period English movies where two lines of couples go gracefully forward and back and do various sedate figures to lovely music? That is English Country Dance (ECD). Contra is ECD on steroids. We also like other types of dancing (cajun, zydeco, swing, waltz) and frequently host visiting bands, callers, and dancers. If you are in town on a Friday, we'll take you contra dancing. It is easy to learn!

Karl comes from a really well traveled family and Kimbi is trying to catch up. She still has a long way to go.

We really enjoy introducing the USA/Atlanta to international visitors and hearing about where they are from -- I mean, when you are between trips or don't have the time or money to go out and see the world, why not invite the world into your living room instead?

Pretty much everyone who stays with us on a weekend goes home with happy tummies and starry eyed stories about Karl's homemade buttermilk blueberry pancakes.

PHILOSOPHY

Maybe you DON'T only go around once in life, but its probably safest to act as if you do.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

At the moment we participate by surfing and being surfed. Kimbi is a writer though (everything from promotional materials to NIH grants) -- maybe she can help out with that.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Couch surfing has become a bit problematic for us in that we are periodically inundated with requests from Americans who mistake us for a hostel or free B&B. Spending our (way too limited) free time cleaning up bathrooms behind guests, changing bed linens, and washing sheets and towels is a pain but totally worth it when, in exchange, we get a chance to meet people of all ages from cultures and backgrounds different than our own. So, listen up Americans, if you are simply looking for a free place to crash overnight while you are passing through town or are coming to Atlanta for spring break, to attend a concert, etc. etc. please get in touch with someone else.

Interests

Dancing, music (contra), hiking, canoeing, train travel, ship (cargo freighter) travel, photography, Mac computers, chemistry (Karl is a bioinorganic X-ray crystallographer), vaccine research (Kimbi is Director/Goddess of the Vaccine Dinner Club), HIV/AIDS research, Ethiopian and Indian food.

• writing
• photography
• concerts
• dancing
• waltz
• dining
• indian food
• running
• clubbing
• movies
• traveling
• socializing
• music
• hiking
• canoeing
• surfing
• chemistry
• tourism

Music, Movies, and Books

Contra music: Footloose, Latter Day Lizards, Contrazz, Great Bear Trio; Book: Harry Potter; Stephen King, Maeve Binchy, Cooper Anderson
Movies: "eye candy" type movies (Karl and Kimbi's academic life is pretty intense so we like our movie entertainment to be refreshing and mentally non-demanding).

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

These aren't necessarily amazing but are certainly memorable...

Karl: Having Tenzing Norgay (think: Mt. Everest) as my roommate for a couple of weeks during a trip to Tibet.

Kimbi: Working as a whitewater raft guide after college and, on days it was my turn to drive the truck, running way downstream to a secluded eddy in order to skinny dip for a few minutes before the trip showed up. Floating in the water, surrounded by tall trees, morning mist, and the avian dawn chorus before dancing around on a sunny rock to dry off naturally before the first rafts arrived -- and realizing "I'm on the clock; this is my job!"

Countries I’ve Visited

Afghanistan, Albania, Australia, Austria, Bermuda, Canada, China, Denmark, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Haiti, India, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Russian Federation, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

India, United Kingdom, United States

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