CURRENT MISSION

Pilgrimage

ABOUT ME

Here are some things I want: I want to educate and be educated. I want to have discussions and obliterate ignorance. I want to never ever have all of my curiosities satisfied so that I always have something to keep me going.

I have a Cuban first name, a Panamanian family, and two gorgeous golden retrievers. My home is really undefined. I am more a free spirit than someone who settles. Sometimes I like to blend in, sometimes I need to stand out.

PHILOSOPHY

If I can't have it all, I want your share. Actually I don't want "it all" at all. I'd rather just share what I've got. In the words of Gershwin, "I've got plenty of nothing, and nothing's plenty for me." That sounds much better with the music!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Coffee, chocolate, conversation. I can give them, and I love to get them. Okay, not coffee so much, although working in a coffee shop makes me more appreciative of it. I like them while traveling and meeting new acquaintances. I've never formally hosted through couchsurfing although I will someday soon, when I have an available couch, or even inflatable mattress. Right now I'm the only one who surfs my couch, since it doubles as my bed.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Luxembourg was tight, and I've met a lot of great people here in Chicago. Last summer in Nantes I met up with a friendly Frenchman for a drink and conversation. When I first came to Perpignan I surfed my first days while apartment searching and made friends with my host (thanks Isabelle!). In Toulouse I was hosted by and had a drink with two lovely couchsurfers, and in Santiago de Compostela I had a too short conversation with another.

Interests

Oh, I love it all. Belgian beer and waffles. Sitting in the sunlight. Following contentious presidential races. Playing with puppies. Spending time with my grandparents. Going to art museums and staying for hours on end. Window shopping and thrift store shopping. Degustation. Watching foreign films, independent films, Bollywood and mainstream Hollywood movies. Dancing tango. Okay, trying to dance tango and not hurt anyone's feet.

• arts
• writing
• dancing
• tango
• chocolate
• beer
• coffee
• drinking
• shopping
• thrifting
• movies
• traveling
• music
• business

Music, Movies, and Books

Jazz vocals from the days of Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald. Oh, and non-scary Michael Jackson always gets my blood pumping.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

A camel from Oman at the US Capital in Washington, DC. It was the kind of once in a lifetime image that will always be ingrained in my memory. I didn't need a camera to remember but I wish I could share it. Un des plus jolis souvenirs de Washington que j'ai.

Teach, Learn, Share

"Someone asked me the other day, 'what makes a good person?' It was for an essay she was writing for class. And you could say something like 'compassion' or 'understanding', but I think those are really just the trappings. What makes a person good is the fact that said person knows him or herself so well he or she can see the world beyond his or her own ego. That's what creates true compassion and true understanding. I don't think people really realize how much peace they spread just by going about their own business without pretensions. It's not being rigid. It's not about being so stuck behind your own barriers you never experience anything you think you may not understand because all that creates is judgment. It's the point where you can take you out of the equation and still come up with an answer that makes sense. I guess. Maybe."

-Les Paroles de mon amie Jessica T.

Countries I’ve Visited

Afghanistan, Belgium, Cambodia, Canada, Croatia, France, Germany, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, Myanmar, Netherlands, Panama, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Rwanda, Spain, Tanzania, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom

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