I am a non smoker and really have a hard time being around smoking.
Not much of a party person, though CS gatherings can be a blast. I like my quiet time, privacy, and sleep. Yeah, I'm an introvert when it comes down to it. A geek, too!
Dario and I have one kitty (with family back in Rome, until we move to a place where it's safe for her to be outside -- we miss her!), though we have had both doggies and kitties in the past. I used to train horses many, many years ago, so I'm quite fond of the big barnyard variety of critters, too!
Dario Pedicini 31, Male Cork, Cork Ireland (Republic of) Friends since October 2008 "met at a CS party in Naples. Now she is my girlfriend :)" Friendship Type: Best Friend I vouched for SistaWeotch 30+30+30+
Pranav Shah 26, Male New Delhi, Delhi India Friends since March 2011 "Katrina hosted me in Cork" Friendship Type: Friend I vouched for SistaWeotch 2
Rachid Oubasslam 26, Male Khenifra, Meknes Morocco Friends since March 2011 "we had travelled and surfed all around Morocco together:)" Friendship Type: Close Friend I vouched for SistaWeotch 215
Armelle Rapin 34, Female Angouleme, Poitou-Charentes France Friends since November 2007 "We met on tribe.net, then in person, and are now great friends!" Friendship Type: Best Friend 10
Saviour S. Agius 26, Male Lija, Malta Malta Friends since July 2007 "We met in Stromboli and climbed up mount Etna together" Friendship Type: CouchSurfing Friend 7
Adria Hirsch 46, Female Forest Hills, New York United States Friends since April 1991 "We met as actors in the guild of St Swithin, So Cal Renaissance Faire" Friendship Type: Good Friend
ENERGIA 30, Female Naples, Campania Italy Friends since June 2007 "she is really open minded and has been to burning man!!!" Friendship Type: Good Friend I vouched for SistaWeotch
Graham Kennedy 30, Male Cork, Cork Ireland (Republic of) Friends since October 2010 "She jumps out at me when I least expect it, usually in Cork, but only so far..." Friendship Type: Close Friend I vouched for SistaWeotch
Darren McAdam-O'Connell 39, Male Cork, Cork Ireland (Republic of) Friends since June 2011 "Through bike stuff" Friendship Type: Friend
MEDICINE HANDS 38, Several people Sausalito, California United States Friends since November 2007 "She's my Angel and now part of my family, visited me in hospital in Napoli" Friendship Type: Close Friend
I have a lot of geek interests (computers, books, games) and non-geek interests, too (spirituality, civil liberties, animals, military, films and filmmaking, hiking, camping, Burning Man). I'm also an eternal optimist, love the meaning of the word "namaste," and recognize that everyone has an inner Buddha. Also, I don't smoke or do drugs, and don't have kids (other than critters).
...And I enjoy swearing. If you have delicate ears, meander elsewhere, lest my foul mouth wilt your flowers! (I can shut it off, but in my own home, I prefer to speak freely. ;)
How I Participate in CS
"If a man be gracious to strangers, it shows that he is a citizen of the world, and his heart is no island, cut off from other islands, but a continent that joins them."
-- Francis Bacon ______________________________________________________
''Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.''
-- Maya Angelou
This, more than anything, sums up my philosophy about travel and about Couchsurfing. Love it.
______________________________________________________
Traveled in Europe, met with a couple of other couch surfers for camping, hiking, and picnicking in Sicily. When I moved to Napoli, I met and toured a bit with visitors. Also took weekend trips to various European cities, where I met and sometimes surfed with other CS-ers. I attended the occasional CS gathering in Napoli and, now that I've moved to Ireland, regularly attend (and sometimes organize) local events.
As a side note, I actually met my wonderful hubby, Dario, at a local CS gathering in Naples. We have had tons of fun hosting people from all over the world!
CouchSurfing Experience
I have met some incredibly interesting, adventurous, and hospitable people. Always interesting stories to listen to when it comes to CS folks!
Interests
TRAVEL BLOGGING! (See TourAbsurd.com for more. ;) Singing, spirituality, photography, computer games, books, Burning Man, pets, film, bad puns, silliness, equality, justice, civil liberties, direct democracy, natural foods, cruelty-free cleaning and beauty products, climbing volcanoes, and -- traveltravetravel!
The Princes Bride, The Year of Living Dangerously, Amelie, Citizen Kane, High Plains Drifter, The Secret Garden, Run Lola Run; anything I can sing along with or work out to, movie soundtracks (I'm pretty eclectic, musically), random classical pieces, pop, little bit of Bhangra; science fiction / fantasy, philosophy, spirituality, and new age quantum physics.
Types of People I enjoy
Adventurous, positive people who seek to widen their understanding of the universe, people who appreciate the beauty of EXPERIENCE! People who believe in shaping their world. People who like to give FREE HUGS! :D
Teach, Learn, Share
I can teach you the basics of internet usage, email setup, and computer repair and maintenance. I imagine if you are using this site, however, you are already comfortable with the basics. ;) Happy to show you how to register a domain and get basic hosting, if you want a website. Can even show you some basic HTML for your first page.
Lately, with the blog, I've been learning a great deal about WordPress and social media. I can teach you about Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon, Reddit, etc. Just an intro, but enough to demystify it. :)
Dario and I each have our favorite pet philosophy films we like to show folks, if you're interested. I'm into the "woowoo" side of things and spirituality, he's more into understanding and exposing broken political systems -- and fixing them!
One Amazing Thing I've Seen or Done
Worked on feature films, even gotten screen credits; completed US Marine Corps bootcamp; self-financed and arranged a solo trip to Burning Man (my own shade structure, even, yay!); climbed down Mt. Etna in Sicily; went on safari in Tanzania -- snorkeling off Unguja and Pemba, too! Besides joining the Marine Corps, camping on Mt. Etna was the craziest, most amazing, intense thing I've ever done -- AWESOME!
Opinion on the CouchSurfing.org Project
Love it! Not as easy to navigate as I would like, but the people here tend toward fabulous! Would love, love, LOVE a calendar feature! Met some amazing, friendly, fun, energetic people through CS! Great friends! :)
This summary is not a replacement for reading references; it's a quick summary to help you get started. At a glance, you can see how many references a member has, and how many of them are positive, neutral, and negative.
In the second line, you'll see how many references came from people who hosted this member, surfed with them, and traveled with them. These numbers won't always add up to the total: some references are not categorized, and some may be categorized as more than one thing.
When viewing this summary, don't jump to conclusions! Things that are negative for one person may be positive for another, and vice versa. It's important to read references carefully and evaluate what that information means to you.
Katrina is as mad as a bag of badgers, as wise as Dumbledore and will kick your ass like Chuck Norris if you step out of line. She then has the know-how to entice worlds (both real and digital) into following every moment of this escapade. A fantastic person whom I am very happy to call a friend.
From Colm Cronin Cork, Ireland (Republic of) Mar 23
Katrina has great energy and she's very kind and friendly. I've met her in Ireland and she's helped me and still helping me a lot in enjoying my stay as well as in getting familiar w/ Couch Surfing. I had a wonderful time with her and Dario and look forward to meeting them again in Italy or anywhere else in the world :)
The trip to the Dingle Peninsula was the first time we met these two and they are wonderful peeps. They share the same passion for travel as we do. They both are kind and caring and we would highly recommend meeting them if you get the chance. It was too bad that we couldn't stay in Ireland longer to meet up with them again.
From Dave McCarthy Cork, Ireland (Republic of) Aug 14, 2011
Positive
I have not travelled with Katrina, but I have met her several times, and was taken by her warmth, constant good humour, spontaneity, positive attitude to life, and radical sense of fun. As if that was not enough she is highly intelligent and a brilliant conversationalist.
It is people like Katrina who make couchsurfing such a wonderful project. I could not recommend her highly enough to any host or guest.
From Simon Eales Dublin, Ireland (Republic of) Jun 29, 2011
Positive
I took Katrina in when her other host's plans fell through. Despite her sushi cravings we dined in a Lebanese restaurant and explored the national museum with our nerd hats on. Nice to know we have the same CS friend in common too. See you again in Cork.
From Abi Wong New Territories East, China Jun 24, 2011
Positive
It was a pity that I cannot know Katrina earlier!!She is just COOL! I heard her name long time before I met her and I just felt some chemistry between us once we started chatting. She is intelligent, easy going and knowledgable and she's always ready to show her lovely smile and carings to people! Cannot ignore her photography talent too :)
She had a lot of travel experiences and she writes interesting travel blogs, I wish I can travel with her in the future and share more fun together!
Cork City is so lucky to have Katrina to stay!!
From Sue Swansborough Eyeries, Ireland (Republic of) May 1, 2011
Positive
We met at a Meetup group meeting in Cork (World Changers) and Katrina was really welcoming and inspiring, had lots of ideas for changing my life and those of others and I wanted to meet her again!
We then went for a meal, along with her husband (just as nice!), which I enjoyed immensely. I am new to Cork so this was a very positive introduction. Highly recommended :-))
From April Hubbard Wilmington, United States Apr 23, 2011
Positive
I met her while I was visiting my brother in Morocco. She was traveling with a very good friend of my brother's and they surfed at my brother's home while I was there. Katrina and I ended up talking for hours discovering we had a lot in common and could relate on many levels. Although she was very tired from little sleep, she was still friendly and engaging. We shared a couple of great meals together. I would love to take my family to Ireland and visit her. I recommend hosting/surfing with Katrina!
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Bloggers & their Weblogs
Cork
Venice
Napoli-Naples and suburbs
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