Kendra Benttinen's Photo

Verified Profile

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Wants to Meet Up

  • Last login about 6 years ago

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Overview

  • 46 references 18 Confirmed & Positive
  • Fluent in English; learning Spanish
  • 41, Female
  • Member since 2007
  • Local Currency Founder
  • enough!
  • No hometown listed
  • Profile 100% complete

About Me

CURRENT MISSION

Last year I went on an epic Latin America travel adventure with my boyfriend. We spent 3 months in Buenos Aires and 5 weeks on a mountain in northern Argentina outside of Jujuy doing some work-trade with a great group of people! Then we headed to Chile, Bolivia and Peru. I loved hosting couchsurfers for years when I lived in the Bay Area in California, and it had a big impact on my life and desire to continue traveling and meeting all kinds of people. I hope to share and connect and learn from people in every place we go!

ABOUT ME

I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for 8 years, but I am from Southern California, and arrived here after living in Washington DC and London and brief stints in South America, mostly Bolivia. I studied parasites and I like the weirdness of biology. I get pretty excited when talking about a subject that interests me, and I like hearing and telling great stories. I radically changed my life 3 years ago after reading a book called Sacred Economics, by Charles Eisenstein. I am now the co-founder of Bay Bucks, a local currency system in the SF Bay Area.

I loved living in the Bay Area because I love the people I met there, the things you can find, and the way you can be whatever you want. I love to dance (salsa, bhangra, charleston, whatever), to grow things, to learn from people, and to hear good ideas.

I like to meet and host people that are free-spirited, not afraid of new places or ideas, and bring the right energy and attitude.

PHILOSOPHY

My personal philosophy. Wow, that's intense for an online profile. But I think it's important, so... I love deeply and trust intuitively. I hate that money dictates so much of what people do. I try to see the amazingness of everything and the beauty of the world at all times. I don't like letting other people down. I hope to live simply, happily, and to be a lifelong learner.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Hosting, traveling, meet fellow CSers, meetings, parties, you name it...

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Well.. I hosted a lot in SF, met other local hosters and their guests, attended meet-ups/activities... plan to do more of the same and keep traveling! My favorite CS memory is the 2008 elections when I was hosting a Brit and a French guy who got to join in the wild street celebrations that night in SF, they had no idea it was going to be so crazy!

Interests

Local currency, permaculture, ecovillages, co-housing, death, mind-expanding activities, public health, dancing (especially salsa and other latin dances, bhangra, Charleston, hip-hop), food (especially locally farmed), ecology, jungles, insects, international goings-on...you know, frankly, almost everything interests me. You just have to be a good story teller. :)

  • insects
  • books
  • singing
  • beauty
  • festivals
  • dancing
  • dining
  • cooking
  • partying
  • gardening
  • reading
  • traveling
  • crochet
  • knitting
  • biology
  • ecology
  • economics
  • history
  • languages
  • beaches
  • rivers

Music, Movies, and Books

This section is too overwhelming. I like rock n' roll, bluegrass, country, folk.... a bunch of bands that are totally diverse. My favorite authors are Charles Eisenstein, Tom Robbins, Dave Eggers, Philip Roth and I enjoy books about science (fiction and non), other cultures, and philosophy. I am in a book club and read all sorts of stuff I wouldnt normally choose for myself, and end up liking much of it. I love musicals and stage performances as well.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Seen many things, usually unexpectedly...Seen a saints day festival in rural Bolivia in the rain. The Bolivian desert, the Peruvian rivers, the Costa Rican and Bolivian jungles...it's all amazing. Beautiful beaches in New Zealand, Hawaii, even good old SoCal.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach you about local currency systems, parasites, STDs and other health topics, maybe some basic gardening and permaculture. Also, English and Spanish language. Would like to learn: more languages, history of places I know little about (which is almost everywhere sadly, my history is really lacking), and probably a whole lot of other things I havent thought of. Would like to learn to crochet or knit, and sew better. Would like to learn about the flora and fauna of the places I go, and more permaculture.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Would love to cook you a meal, sing you a song, and/or invite you to visit me in the future!

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, France, Germany, Lebanon, Mexico, New Zealand, Panama, Peru, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom, Venezuela

Countries I’ve Lived In

Argentina, United Kingdom, United States

Old School Badges

  • 13 Vouches
  • Pioneer Badge

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