CURRENT MISSION

folk music and beyond: enjoy, absorb, create....

ABOUT ME

i'm a musician. i sing, write, play cello and trumpet.
i live in istanbul and spend my most of my vacations in armenia.

PHILOSOPHY

i'm committed to the belief that full emotional freedom and spiritual healing are possible and that following our heart's desire is the best thing each of us can do for ourselves and others. i believe that when we get out of our own way, things flow...sometimes scarily, but always beautifully.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

have availed myself of several couches. have also attended CS events in prague, budapest, and turkey and met up with individual CSers. CS can be a great network for cultural exchange.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

i have met heaps of good folks through surfing, personal meetups and events. sadly i have also found that not everyone has noble intentions. women should be wary of overly friendly men who want to help, should always have a plan B and be ready to leave someone's company if it becomes comfortable.

Interests

i'm interested in the folk music traditions of different cultures, particularly armenian, greek, turkish balkan, how they developed, how they continue to evolve and interact with each other and with newer musical forms. because i'm a musician, listening to and playing new ideas thrills me. i love the intellectual and psychological challenge of eastern european/middle eastern musical forms, as well as the way it connects me to something deep and primal.
i'm also interested in languages and linguistics. i tend to study a lot of them, with varying degrees of success, but always enjoying it. i'm particularly drawn to language isolates (korean, hungarian...). food traditions also intrigue me.

• singing
• concerts
• dining
• baking
• traveling
• music
• folk music
• trumpet
• surfing
• teaching
• languages

Music, Movies, and Books

music: bartok, komitas, lots of folk music: macedonian, turkish, bosnian, bulgarian, armenian.... always and ever apeshit for tom waits and they might be giants. i love the songwriting of barbara, jacques brel, kate bush. and punk rock is also fine, as long as it has accordion and violin.

i was raised on pete seeger. love him forever.

last great movie seen: the fall (dir. tarsem singh). gorgeous, life-affirming, see it. russian ark (dir. alexandr sokurov)

the films of hayao miyazaki. best director ever.
recent books: the new life by orhan pamuk; the beak of the finch by jonathan weiner; this is your brain on music by daniel levitin;

and a great canadian novel: No Great Mischief by alistair macleod. every single word of it is beautiful.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

at a parliament funkadelic concert, i touched the sweat-drenched hem of george clinton's dashiki.
i have also listened over and over to Ravel's string quartet (1st mvnt is the best).

Teach, Learn, Share

i've been an english teacher for years. this in spite of my reluctance to spread linguistic imperialism. i know about a hundred uses for baking soda and never travel without it. i love encouraging people to follow their passion, especially if it is musical. i might be able to teach you how to count songs in 7 or 9.

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, China, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Guatemala, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Macedonia, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Scotland, Serbia, Spain, Thailand, Timor-Leste (East Timor), Turkey, United States, Viet Nam, Wales

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, Hungary, Panama, South Korea, Thailand, Turkey, Wales

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