I'm a community-involved ultrageek, interested in politics and issues like net neutrality. I'm really excited about designing and making things, especially with rapid prototyping (laser cutting, 3d printing etc.) I also love food, and will be very happy to take you to my favorite local restaurants in Munich. I love cooking big meals at my place too- curries and pancakes are in my top 5.

My homepage is http://www.rachelilansimpson.com

After doing a lot of travel around Europe, I moved to Munich to work as an Interaction and User Experience Designer. I've been living here 3 years now.

PHILOSOPHY

Keep calm and carry on.

(And never let them see you sweat.)

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

As much as I can, as often as I can. I spent 6 months in 2012 traveling around Europe with lots of support from the couchsurfing community, and I love to host travelers who are doing the same. At the moment, I travel frequently for work, so I also make use of Airbnb for professional trips. That also makes it harder to host these days, so I tend to be very choosy about who I pick. I'm looking to meet people who are very passionate about what they do.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Too many to count, but I must say that I've been overwhelmed by the generosity and hospitably of couchsurfing hosts in every place I've been.

Interests

Besides being obsessed with Design and making things with computers, I love rock climbing and playing ukelele. Sometimes I make computer games for fun. (http://www.dinofling.com)

• design
• dining
• cooking
• modeling
• politics
• traveling
• socializing
• rock climbing

Music, Movies, and Books

At the moment? "The Shallows," a book about what the internet is doing to our brains. Interesting! "Lean in", which I put off reading for ages and am now completely glad I did. And "It Will Be Exhilarating" by Studio Neat (http://www.studioneat.com/products/exhilarating) on how to launch successful products via Kickstarter campaign. It's awesome!

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Seeing Bernini's Daphne and Apollo in Rome, and Van Gogh's paintings at D'orsay in Paris. Traffic in Istanbul is top 5 too.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach:
The Adobe Suite, 3d modeling in Solidworks, web design, web setup for grassroots organizations. (How to set up sites like blogger and wordpress on your own and keep them going, and get them seen.)

I want to learn:
More about interaction design and processing, as well as arduino and basic circuits! More 3d modeling and rendering, in Rhino and with programs like VRay. I'm also always happy to learn how to cook a new dish, preserve food and brew alcohol.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, Germany

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