CURRENT MISSION

"Fais de ta vie un rêve, et de ton rêve une réalité" "Make your life a dream, and a dream a reality" -Antoine de Saint-Exupery

ABOUT ME

down to earth, down to explore! I love music, good food, craft beer, dancing awkwardly at concerts, biking in a dress, adventures, and traveling to places that are so completely different from where I grew up on the East Coast (could be a rural town in northern Idaho or a big city in Russia- I've never been to either, but both sound like fun!).

Currently I am completing my residency in pediatrics in Kansas City.

PHILOSOPHY

A story introduced to me by one of my professors, author unknown:

An American tourist was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked.

Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The tourist complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.

The Mexican replied, "Only a little while."

The tourist then asked, "Why didn't you stay out longer and catch more fish?"

The Mexican said, "With this I have more than enough to support my family's needs."

The tourist then asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"

The Mexican fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos, I have a full and busy life."

The tourist scoffed, " I can help you. You should spend more time fishing; and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat: With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats. Eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor; eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You could leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles and eventually New York where you could run your ever-expanding enterprise."

The Mexican fisherman asked, "But, how long will this all take?"

The tourist replied, "15 to 20 years."

"But what then?" asked the Mexican.

The tourist laughed and said, "That's the best part. When the time is right you would sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions."

"Millions?...Then what?"

The American said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos."

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I've traveled a lot with couchsurfing and met many wonderful friends! It has allowed me to travel the world on a budget, and I enjoy sharing experiences with fellow travelers/humans.

Where I've surfed:
Feb '11: Amsterdam with Lucas
May '11: Tours and Orleans with Julia and Clement
Sept '11: Nantes with Chloe, Clemence, and Yoanna Aix-en-Provence with Bobolobim coloc, Avignon with Coco
Oct '11: Verona with Michele Pisa with Samuele
Dec '11: Barcelona with Jeremy, Valencia with Vincent
June '13: Bali, Indonesia with Indriani
March '14: Minneapolis, MN with AJ
June '15: Montreal with Laurent
June '16: traveled around Iceland with Christian and Ulf

I've also hosted a few travelers in Des Moines, IA and Kansas City, KS.

Interests

• wildlife
• concerts
• dancing
• dining
• wine
• beer
• boating
• traveling
• music
• cycling
• medicine
• wwoof

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: Ray Lamontagne, Dallas Green, Angus and Julia Stone, Cults, Prince, Ingrid Michaelson, The Shins, Star F*cker, Foals, Vampire Weekend, Die Antwoord, Grouplove, Regina Spektor, John Coltrane, Corinne Bailey Rae, Cold War Kids, Regina Spektor, Phoenix, Cake, Zee Avi, The Smiths, Lykke Li, Lorde, Arcade Fire, Matt Corby, Bon Iver, The Black Keys, Brett Dennen, Iron & Wine, Tegan & Sara, Paul Simon, Coeur de Pirate...

Books: The Alchemist, Harry Potter, The Last Lecture, anything by Augusten Boroughs and David Sedaris, Half The Sky, Le Petit Prince, L'Amant, Into The Wild, The Lorax, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, The Giver...

Movies: Blue Valentine, Drive, Dirty Dancing, The Breakfast Club, Revolutionary Road, Children of Men, Paris Je T'aime, Les Intouchables, Pulp Fiction, Titanic, Donnie Darko, L'Auberge Espagnole, Adventureland, An Education, A Single Man, The Place Beyond The Pines, Eastern Promises, In A Better World, The Truman Show, Armageddon, The Road, Whats Eating Gilbert Grape, etc.

Food (because its just as important to me as movies, books, and music): vegetarian and vegan creations, macaroni and cheese, pulled pork sandwiches, seafood, chocolate deserts, crepes, thai food, vietnamese food, mexican food, farm-to-table restaurants, butternut squash soup, loaded salads, french cheeses, pizza...I love just about any food that is well prepared.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

worked with Cheetahs for a summer at an educational facility in South Africa, worked with children at an orphanage and assisted farmers with the care of their alpacas in Nunoa, Peru, wwoof'd across europe and a little bit in the states.

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, Cambodia, Canada, Germany, Guatemala, Iceland, Indonesia, Italy, Laos, Malaysia, Morocco, Netherlands, Peru, South Africa, Spain, Thailand, United Kingdom, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, Peru, United States