CURRENT MISSION

Enjoy life and carpe diem

ABOUT ME

I have not checked into Couchsurfing for the better part of 2 years, so please excuse my poor response rate! As of March 13, 2014 we are back on Planet Couchsurfing and available to host.

Things that have happened these 2 years: got married. Left corporate world to write/teach. Bought a house.

My husband, Kris, is also part of couch surfing and his profile, though not updated, is here:
https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/aero86

PHILOSOPHY

"When I was younger and would complain to my parents about never having left the US, my mother would be quick to respond with the example of Kant, who apparently led quite the life despite never leaving his hometown of Konigsberg." - my friend Nick

I think most of us aren't a Kant, and need to leave home to see whats out there. But if you are a Kant, then you will probably be just as brilliant and fulfilled anywhere, and that's fine too.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

As a traveler: I am SO grateful to have a place to stay, have new friends to spend time with, and be traveling. I pay homage to the travel gods by helping my hosts' with chores, making dinner and/or by buying them drinks/meal. I am usually traveling with my boyfriend-turned-husband Kris, who is a super easy going guy. I try to be open minded and learn and immerse myself as much as possible in other cultures.

As a host: we have boat-sat, shower-offered, fed, and now hosted surfers. Really enjoy hearing everyone's stories and try to make our surfers feel as welcomed and comfortable as possible.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Simply put, couchsurfing has provided me with countless memorable stories, new experiences, new cultures, adventures and friendships, and I'm very grateful.

Interests

anything on the water, hiking, sports, old cinema houses, ballet, wood burning fires, good food, acoustic guitar music, camping, thick wool socks, settlers of catan/trivial pursuit, climbing, reading, learning new languages

• ballet dancing
• dining
• cooking
• recipes
• drinking
• boating
• movies
• reading
• traveling
• crochet
• music
• guitar
• piano
• hiking
• camping
• surfing
• sports
• rock climbing
• astronomy
• languages
• science

Music, Movies, and Books

Films: Anything Miyazaki. Any John Hughes, but especially Pretty in Pink. Almost Famous, Breakfast at Tiffanys, Before Sunrise, Inglourious Basterds, Lost in Translation, Hot Tub Time Machine, Eternal Sunshine, Jurassic Park, Eat Drink Man Woman, the Graduate

Books: Anything by Murakami, Ishiguro, and Jane Austen. They're incredible! Great Expectations, Stargirl, the Origin of Species, Hamlet, Game of Thrones

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

(One is more active and one is more passive, but too awesome not to share):

Explored ancient Byzantine cave churches in Cappadocia, Turkey

Was taught astronomy by Steve Squyres (principal investigator on the Mars Rover) and Bill Nye (the science guy) as an undergraduate at Cornell.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach piano and Mandarin

I would love to learn how to play the guitar, harmonica and crochet.

I would love to share stories from life and travel, as well as cooking recipes!

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Cambodia, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey

Countries I’ve Lived In

China, United States

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