CURRENT MISSION

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” Mahatma Gandhi

ABOUT ME

The 3 things I find most important in life are loving, learning, and finding happiness. I'm into conversations about social justice, photography, art, music, meditation, language, books, yoga, and personal growth. Social work is my first major passion, and a very close second is traveling; I feel most at home when I'm not at home.

PHILOSOPHY

“Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do, than by the things you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Hosting when I can, surfing when traveling! Learning/sharing/teaching/giving/receiving/loving

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I've surfed in Paris, Prague, Portland, Puerto Rico, Denver, Mexico, Laredo, Monterrey, Tunis, Zarzis. I've hosted in Austin more times than I can count, but have enjoyed having people from Boston, Montreal, France, Colombia, Liverpool, San Francisco, North Carolina, and more.

I've never had a bad experience on Couchsurfing and always walk away with new knowledge. I'm still close friends with some people I met on CS over a decade ago, which isn't that surprising, because I find people in the CS community are uniquely interesting, loving, inspiring and diverse! Couchsurfing has had a huge part in transforming my life, opening me to experiences I would have never had otherwise - and am so grateful I did.

Interests

Social justice, traveling, animals, making lists, biking, camping, meditative art therapy, adventures, staycations, NPR, breakfast tacos, regular tacos, sunshine, succulents, journals, laughter, "exquisite corpse", chips&salsa, collecting books and New Yorkers, rooftops, stoops, card games, bougie francophonie stuff, pickled okra, knitting, and avoiding singing at karaoke.

• animals
• cats
• arts
• books
• singing
• photography
• breakfast
• yoga
• marathon
• meditation
• traveling
• crochet
• knitting
• music
• drums
• karaoke
• cycling
• camping
• surfing
• sailing
• social work

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: Al Green, Arthur Russell, A$AP, Angel Olsen, Animal Collective, Ariel Pink, Bass Drum of Death, Beach Fossils, Bombino, The Beatles, Big K.R.I.T., Beat Happening, Buddy Holly (from my hometown!), Bill Callahan, the Black Angels, Blood Orange, The Books, Clinic, Chet Faker, Crystal Stilts, Devendra Banhart, Dum Dum Girls, El Guincho, France Gall, Fats Domino, Generationals, Junior Boys, Joy Division, The Jesus & Mary Chain, Kendrick Lamar, Karen O, King Tuff, Kraftwerk, Kurt Vile, Kishi Bashi, Leonard Cohen, The Liminanas, La Luz, Mikal Cronin, Mac DeMarco, Manu Chao, The Microphones/Mount Eerie, The Orwells, Octopus Project, Parquet Courts, Primal Scream, Paul Kalkbrenner, Run the Jewels, Rodriguez, Rhye, Simon and Garfunkel, Soko, Sinkane, The Strange Boys, Ty Segall, Townes Van Zandt, T. Rex, Velvet Underground, White Denim, Washed Out, Woods, Yelle, and more.

Movies: The Only Lovers Left Alive, Control, Boyhood, The Theory of Everything, Mulholland Drive, The Life of David Gale,, Elf, Marie Antoinette, and every horror movie ever made.

A few books that have shaped my perspective include: Sartre's Huis Clos, Leonard Cohen's Book of Longing, The Alchemist, Siddhartha, Love by Leo Buscaglia, The Haj, The Bridge of San Luis Rey, and Out of Poverty by Paul Polak.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Short answer: I once ran a 26.2 mile marathon last minute without training. I was sore for two weeks.

Not so short: At the beginning of the Arab Spring, I quit my job and moved to North Africa to support people who were casualties of the conflict. While there, I supported efforts in the Libyan people's revolution, sent supplies to the rebels, developed humanitarian aide programs to assist displaced refugees, and taught social work skills to refugee volunteers wanting to help their neighbors. During the course of the Libyan civil war, I first worked in Tunisia with refugees at the border, then moved to Tripoli once Gaddafi fled, and continued my work there by consulting startup nonprofits, assisting with grassroots community organizing, and providing trauma services to children and youth suffering PTSD.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach you how to... knit or crochet, launch a startup, make pickle popsicles, become a grantwriter, get your cat to do tricks on command, and so much more.

Looking to learn how to... be more zen, develop film in a darkroom, speak Spanish without sounding like a tool, play the drums, and keep my room clean (but that might be a lost cause.)

I'd love to share... my spicy homemade salsa, music recommendations, tacos (anytime, anywhere), silence without a need to speak, and conversations on topics with meaning.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Belize, Botswana, Canada, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Libya, Madagascar, Mexico, Namibia, Netherlands, Puerto Rico, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, Tunisia, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, Libya, Madagascar, South Africa, Tunisia, United States

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