Rachel Olsson's Photo

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Not Accepting Guests

  • Last login almost 4 years ago

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Overview

  • 49 references 16 Confirmed & Positive
  • Fluent in English; learning Haitian, Haitian Creole, Indonesian, Spanish
  • 39, Female
  • Member since 2006
  • Mom, grassroots midwife + RN
  • BA in International Studies and Masters in Nursing and He...
  • From Des Moines/Urbandale, IA
  • Profile 100% complete

About Me

CURRENT MISSION

to love and continue expanding love, to empower women/families/community through natural birth, to be me

ABOUT ME

Well first, I'm a mom.
And then...I LOVE to dance--especially latin.
Yoga (anusara, acro, vinyassa) and meditation keep me centered and grounded....but wait, I'm a mom now and I hardly have time for anything beyond mildly ensuring my own sanity.
I also love climbing trees and doing cartwheels and handstands.
I'm very interested in health and wellness, social justice, sustainability, and basically living a mindful and love-filled life.
I love food, and I'll try anything (ant eggs, camel, gelatinous native dishes, etc), though I stick to vegetarian unless I'm traveling.
My current challenge is living mindfully, in the present moment, while trying to follow my bliss :)

PHILOSOPHY

Choose Love.
Gratitude.
Be still and let the world open itself to you.
Be awake in each moment.
and seriously, eat your vegetables!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

In the past: Surfing, hosting, city meet-ups, and my favorite: CS pot-lucks

***** I am currently not able to host, but am willing to help with travel plans and possibly hang out*******

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

oh the places I've slept and haven't slept...Lima, Ayacucho, Cajamarca, and Trujillo, Peru; Paris, France; Boston; San Francisco; Albuquerque.
I've hosted. I've attended and hosted couchsurfing gatherings in Santa Fe, Lima, Boston, and Iowa City.
Always a beautiful time with CouchSurfing!

Interests

open-air markets, midwifery, dance, sustainability, clowning as a means for changing the world, Chinese medicine, libraries, vipassana meditation, co-ops, acroyoga, slow food, grass root revolutions, mindfulness, couch-surfing, Buddhism, Taoism, macrobiotic healing, sunshine, trees, water, insects, wildflowers...

  • insects
  • dancing
  • salsa dancing
  • education
  • dining
  • cooking
  • vegetarian
  • yoga
  • meditation
  • traveling
  • surfing
  • buddhist
  • rock climbing
  • teaching
  • medicine

Music, Movies, and Books

books: Zorba the Greek, Princess Bride, Prescription for Nutritional Healing, Spiritual Midwifery, Baby Catcher, The Red Tent, The Power of Now, Awakening the Buddha Within, Shambhala
misc short stories and poetry

people: Rumi, Sedaris, Kazantzakis, Patch Adams, Kundera, Cat Stevens

movies: Microcosmos, Baraka, Knocked up, V for Vendetta, Office Space, Lost in Translation, Zoolander, Patch Adams

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

swam in the amazon with piranas, slept under the stars in kenya, trekked up the great wall in the snow, rode public transport in India, helped catch babies in Haiti, Indonesia, and Española, hiked around ruins in northern Peru, lived on the border of Texas and Mexico, loved

Teach, Learn, Share

I've got: Yoga. Vegetarian cooking. Salsa dancing. Nutritional advice. Reiki. Massage. Childbirth education.

I'd really like to learn the harmonica!

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Peru, South Africa, Venezuela, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States

Old School Badges

  • 6 Vouches
  • Pioneer Badge

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