CURRENT MISSION

Explore other cultures to understand where mine stands...

ABOUT ME

Real "Frog" who has traveled (a bit) and moved to Cariboo / Maple leaf-land. All my family is in the wine business (yes, in France), and I am the only one who has stepped out of it and who keeps exploring other skies and countries, always keeping in mind these extraordinary roots. Passion for writing (much more comfortable in French though): been the chief editor of a bilingual newspaper in Vancouver, composed a travel guide on Western Canada for a French publishing company (released in June 07, yeah!!). Always willing to learn.

PHILOSOPHY

Capture and discover from other cultures to better understand where mine stands. Working on getting wiser.
Definitely more spiritual than anything else, and having become a (mixed) martial artist has helped me getting to some levels of knowledge (though, this never ends, really: that is the basics of Life, after all!).

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Stepping from "good idea" to "good action", also to confirm that what we hear on the news does not represent much more than a few % of the population. The rest of us are just good human beings, looking to connect and make this world smaller than it looks.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Started in 2007 as a guest and a host: loving it. Met incredible people who have helped open my eyes on both their country / city / Life and myself as well.

Interests

Cultural diversity and interaction. Writing. Nice dinners (i.e. good food, often as a "first time cooked in my life" and good wine) and conversations (some turn into debates sometimes: quite enjoyable).
I dance a lot (well, used to): modern jazz (I even won a national competition, in my team at the time, back in the days, in France, whooo-hoo!), tango, salsa, batchata, merengue, soukouss, West African dance (I performed for 2 years around Vancouver: so much fun!).
I volunteer a lot, just because I help people who need it more than me, and if I can, why not.

• arts
• writing
• concerts
• dancing
• tango
• dining
• wine
• news
• traveling
• music
• jazz
• backpacking
• martial arts
• business
• tourism
• volunteering

Music, Movies, and Books

Thrilled with "The big blue" (movie by Luc Besson) when I was a teenager.
Any music that makes me dance.
Among others, and not limited to: Jamie Cullum, Baka Beyond, India.Arie, Mariza, FreshlyGround, Billie Myers, Orchestra Makassy, Serge Gainsbourg, Zazie, the Nubians, Vusi Mahlasela, Robert Wilson, Saint-Germain, Costes, Lenny Kravitz, Jack Johnson, Concha Buika. Lyrics that make me think attract me.
As for books (some of my favourites): The poisonwood bible (Barbara Kingsolver), The secret life of the bees (Sue Monk Kidd), Flow: the psychology of optimal experience (Michael Csikszentmihalyi), Solitaire (Marian Botsford Fraser), Celestial dancer (Anthony Shafer), L'ultime conviction du désir (Richard Bohringer), Tales of a female nomad (Rita Golden Gelman), Black like me (John Howard Griffin), Fruit of the lemon (Andrea Levy).

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Solo backpacking in Cuba, solo free fall out of a plane, getting lost in remote South African areas. I gave a (music) concert at the Salle Gaveau (in Paris) when I was 12.

Teach, Learn, Share

Listen and learn from differences with respecting any of them.
Otherwise, I can teach French, a bit of Mixed Martial Arts. Always interested in learning new disciplines (not necessarily interested in aiming for perfection for each of them, although some could become my favourites). As for sharing: ideas first, the rest could be Life.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Belgium, China, Congo, Cuba, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Germany, Guadeloupe, Honduras, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Monaco, Morocco, Myanmar, Oman, Portugal, Qatar, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Swaziland, Switzerland, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Azerbaijan, Canada, France, Morocco, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States

• 

•