CURRENT MISSION

My mission is to leave animals & the world more beautiful, safe, & sustainable, along with more people being socially, culturally, financially, historically, artistically, & environmentally conscious & empowered.

ABOUT ME

I'm so versatile, I think Chaka Khan made that "I'm Every Woman" song about me! I love adventure & a wide variety of almost everything when it comes to entertainment, fun, & R & R--except sports requiring more than 2 players or sports outside of water! I have a fun, youthful side & a very serious, philosophical 1 too. In me is a soft spot for helping others in need (with or without fur) & a love for meeting new people & learning more about other cultures.

PHILOSOPHY

Cultural differences stem far more from traditional geographical, socialization, & indoctrination differences than from genetics. I'm very much of a naturalist & passionate environmentalist. Other values include: global financial empowerment & consideration for all who want it; recognition & productive mastery of our superconscious minds; elimination of racism, AIDS, & cancer by education & ADDRESSING them; widespread recognition of the power of arts-infusion; valuing & preserving the best of cultural pluralism & rapidly vanishing traditional cultures despite all the benefits of cultural diffusion, modernism, separatism, and integration.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

For a while I was writing, reporting, emailing, posting about it & linking to it every chance I got. (Maybe not so much now that I've come down to earth about it but hey, I had a long run of it there for a while & now that it's incorporated, all of its advertisers relieved me of my job). I have more photos & details about it in facebook albums.

Since selling my house Jan. 23’, I now live with my pets & mother again in what was always our vacation home where I’ve relocated to in North Carolina from New Jersey, USA. I'll likely start hosting again at some point once having a spare room &/or my own place again.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I had an unbelievably amazing CS start as a surfer & many great hosting experiences. Check out the photos of the yacht & the prior, out-of-the blue surprise Fiji experiences amongst a mountainside botanical garden overlooking a bay on here. They were my 2 couchsurfing guest introductions! All went swell with many guests hosted, surfers met in local areas at a few events, & I love many CS groups & events.

Please be considerate. I had a few experiences along with others met here, of surfers that either don't tell you (until too late, if at all), they've decided on another place or whatever else happened after you've accepted their request & gone out of your way to buy food & otherwise prepare for their visit & let them tie up your time, or they end up arriving MUCH later than expected when you could've made other plans for those days. (Since I was so well cared for by my hosts, in return, I only bought enough food to last my 1 group of 4 guests for the 3 days they were expected though they didn't arrive from their cross-country trip until the day we'd agreed they'd be leaving! So I MAY or may not do special grocery or other shopping once guests arrive, especially if more than 1 person. I may also let my guests do their own food shopping & the cooking. Luckily there was a 24/7 restaurant, supermarket, pharmacy, 7/11, diner, & fast food nearby). Unless there are sufficient positive posts confirmed by other hosts/guests, I usually refuse taking chances with last minute & unverified guests, preferring 2 weeks notice.

Anyhow, I look forward to hosting and surfing with new people again when time permits.

Interests

Talents/Hobbies/Interests: dancing, water sports, learning & teaching history & cultures, life skills...I have traveled to most continents & plan on more touring of all of them. I enjoy a wide variety of music, reading, all forms of writing, movies, casual to fine dining, animals & nature in general, board games, TV, skating, cards, multi-cultural arts, architecture, interior design...

• animals
• dogs
• arts
• writing
• architecture
• design
• interior design
• dancing
• education
• dining
• cooking
• vegetarian
• vegan
• fast food
• fine dining
• running
• gardening
• yachting
• shopping
• movies
• board games
• reading
• tv
• traveling
• painting
• investing
• music
• surfing
• sports
• teaching
• entrepreneurship
• genealogy
• geography
• history
• psychology
• sociology
• tourism
• visual arts
• ecotourism
• cultural immersion

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: gospel; club gospel; club (aka house); fusion; New Age, R&B; & multi-cultural

Movies: Comedies-Mrs. Doubtfire, The Birdcage, National Lampoon's Vacation, Overboard; Dramas-The Pursuit of Happiness; Soul Food; John Singleton & Tyler Perry flicks; Romance-Endless Love, The Blue Lagoon; Titanic, Best Man, Boomerang

Books: J. California Cooper (hilarious yet heartwarming); The Power of Your Subconscious Mind; The Autobiography of Malcolm X; Roots; & Napoleon Hill made most impact. There's not a room in my house without books applicable to my uses for that room.

... countless others of wide variety too numerous to name

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

My trip to Fiji that I customized was the eco-tourism, cultural immersion, & eco-adventure trip of a lifetime! Absolutely amazing, wonderful, unforgettable...are all understatements! I won a $7500 teacher fellowship for travel anywhere in the world in order to fulfill personal & professional dreams of a lifetime from the Geraldine Dodge Foundation. My 3 weeks in Fiji were the result; if you enjoy the photos & learning experience as much as I did if you check them out here, why not add Fiji to your travel destinations???!!!

Other than that, my other amazing travels in general can be seen below besides clicking & reading about them on my cs map:
visited 12 states (5.33%) Create your own visited map of The World

Teach, Learn, Share

I’m a retired social studies teacher who taught world history & cultures, geography, & specialties include some life skills, environmentalism, art-infusion, contributions made by various groups to the world, especially little known facts about many but Africans in particular.

My talents & interests include visual arts, especially painting, photography, & interior design; dancing; creative writing & all other forms of writing.

I am fascinated by psychology; sociology; marine life, animals & nature in general; real estate investing, gardening, farming, entrepreneurship, & financial empowerment + self-sufficiency in general. I strongly desire financial freedom for not only myself, but others needing & yearning for it.

What I Can Share with Hosts

-I can refer you to great local sites & entertainment; join you if you'd like & I have time; & possibly even bring you if desired.
-yummy food –that 1 of us prepares – vegetarian or vegan but definitely not red meat

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Bahamas, Brazil, Canada, Egypt, Fiji, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Mexico

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States

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