CURRENT MISSION

learning about life

ABOUT ME

I am a friendly researcher, lecturer, child entertainer (magician, face-painter, balloon animal-twister), vegetarian, volunteer, swim teacher, Californian, babysitter, tutor, admirer, big and little sister, traveler, adventurer, bungee jumper, hair-donater and yoga-doer with a craving for new places and fresh muffins. I would love to meet you!

PHILOSOPHY

'It is only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it were the only one we had.' Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I love it.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

The best invention since carrot cake!

Interests

soft-serve ice cream, swimming, child psychology, rain, people watching, cereal in a cup, thanatology, laughing, reading, listening to music, the beach, dancing, conversing, traveling, sharing, running, New Zealand, guitars (sorry, I can't play yet), Berkeley, flowers, brains, hospice care, and dreaming

• animals
• dancing
• vegetarian
• yoga
• running
• instructor
• flowers
• reading
• traveling
• music
• hiking
• adventure races
• bungee jumping
• swimming
• teaching
• psychology
• volunteering
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

"Crash," "A Beautiful Mind," "The Other Sister," "Peter Pan," "Garden State," and so many more, anything by Carson McCullers, and Where the Red Fern Grows, Sarah McGlachlan, Elton John, Cat Powers, the Coors and most music in general (and I LOVE people who play guitar!)

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Hitch hiking to Queenstown, New Zealand and bungee jumping off the Kawarau Bridge... being hypnotized... watching a goat give birth to a kid... helping a teen girl walk for the first time... couchsurfing across the UK... Learning from women in Kalighat, India... being given the gift of time.

Teach, Learn, Share

Want to learn to swim? I am a swim instructor from Berkeley, California. I studied in New Zealand for 6 months in 2007 and loved that country to bits, moved back to California, studied in the UK for 6 months, moved back to California, studied in NZ again for 4 years and am now back in the middle of the Golden State.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Lots of stories... and a listening ear.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Canada, Fiji, France, India, Ireland, Malaysia, Mexico, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Thailand

Countries I’ve Lived In

New Zealand, United Kingdom, United States