My "legacy profile" that contains active links:
https://www.couchsurfing.com/users/81613/profile/legacy

CURRENT MISSION

Embrace life.

Early in 2015, I started thinking about bucket list type things that I wanted to do. So that's when I came up with my 50-by-50 goal - visit all 50 US states by the time I turn 50! I like to visit capital cities too, so I've added that to my list down below.

Current status: 34 states (+ Washington, DC)
https://m.maploco.com/visited-states/mine.php?states=AK-AL-AR-AZ-CA-CT-DC-FL-GA-IA-IL-IN-KY-LA-MA-MI-MD-ME-MN-MS-NC-NH-NJ-NM-NY-OH-PA-RI-SC-TN-TX-VA-VT-WI-WV

And international travel:
https://map1.maploco.com/visited-countries/mine.php?c1=m672jxh6gw-gmnbx1rsw0-b3ajtx2ygw-b33r6n8s8w-2rrwbbg7b4

ABOUT ME

Since this seems relevant...

The first time I was on a plane, I was only 15 months old. My parents are from Portugal and they were taking me to meet one set of grandparents there who hadn't yet met me.

My dad left Portugal to come to the United States at age 26. When I was 26, I made the reverse trip. I lived in Portugal for a year and it was the best thing I have done in my life so far.

To get an idea of what my interests are, check out the "Groups I Belong To" section of my profile.

And since this doesn't fit anywhere else...

States I've lived in:
-Massachusetts
-Kentucky (capital - Frankfort)
-Georgia (2nd visit in February 2017) (capital - Atlanta)

States I've visited:
-Alabama
-Alaska (#26 - July 2016)
-Arizona (#29 - February 2018)
-Arkansas
-California (#24 - February 2016)
-Connecticut
-Florida (2nd visit in October 2017)
-Illinois
-Indiana
-Iowa (#31 - July 2018)
-Louisiana
-Maine
-Maryland
-Michigan (#33 - October 2018)
-Minnesota (#25 - April 2016)
-Mississippi
-New Hampshire
-New Jersey
-New Mexico (#28 - February 2018) (capital - Santa Fe)
-New York (another NYC trip in April 2017)
-North Carolina (#27 - April 2017) (capital - Raleigh)
-Ohio
-Pennsylvania (2nd visit in October 2016)
-Rhode Island (capital - Providence)
-South Carolina (#34 - February 2019) (capital - Columbia)
-Tennessee
-Texas (#23 - February 2015) (capital - Austin)
-Vermont
-Virginia
-Washington, D.C. (definitely Capital!)
-West Virginia
-Wisconsin (#30 - July 2018) (capital - Madison)

PHILOSOPHY

I'm going to list quotes I really like here:

***
I've been living and loving my nomadic existence since the day in 1986 when, at the age of forty-eight, on the verge of a divorce, I looked around and thought: There has to be more than one way to do life.

There is.
***
Tales of a Female Nomad

**You can't stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.
-Jon Kabat-Zinn

**Don't get into a pissing contest with a skunk.

**aut viam inveniam aut faciam - I shall either find a way or make one.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Stayed with:

-Cheri (Exeter, New Hampshire, USA) in June 2006
http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/cheribinnh/
-Dasha (Burlington, Vermont, USA) in July 2008
http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/earthfire/
-Claudelle (Montreal, Canada) in July 2008
http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/claudelle/
-Aida (Aveiro, Portugal) in July 2010
http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/aidaisabel/
-Natalia and her housemate Rob (Burlington, Vermont, USA) in June 2011
http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/nfajardo/
http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/paradigmshifter/
-Cesar (Lima, Peru) in July 2011, with help from Joel (Lima, Peru)
http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/pablo-cesar/
http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/carismatico28/
-Michelle (Chicago, Illinois, USA) in October 2011
http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/mevers/
-Janessa, Anders, and their kids (Amherst, Massachusetts, USA) in July 2012
http://http//www.couchsurfing.org/people/jlandeck/
-Julie (Lebanon, New Hampshire, USA) in August 2012, August 2013, July 2014, August 2015, and July 2016
http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/julie.puttgen/
-Alex (Pittsfield, Massachusetts, USA) in August 2013, June 2014, June 2015, and June 2016
https://www.couchsurfing.org/profile.html?id=5XHPOXU
-Jebb and Tracy (Tyringham, Massachusetts, USA) in June 2014
https://www.couchsurfing.org/people/jebbremelius/
-Claudia (Austin, Texas, USA) in February 2015
https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/claudiac
-Beth (Merrimac, MA, USA) in October 2015
https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/bethvjones
-Jessie (Minneapolis, MN, USA) in April 2016
https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/jessie-rae-2
-Michele (Lexington, MA, USA) in October 2016 and February 2017
https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/michele.cooke
-Nira (Northampton, MA, USA) in November 2016
https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/nohocouch
-Greg (Albuquerque, NM, USA) in February 2018
https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/newmexicogreg
-Fernando and Katherine (Milwaukee, WI, USA) in July 2018
https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/reggietao
https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/katherine-frances
-Leah (Greendale, WI, USA) in July 2018
https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/leah.weyers
-Andrew (Lebanon, NH, USA) in August 2019
https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/afcmayhew

Hosted:
-Mark (Northampton, Massachusetts, USA) in August 2007
http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/staxer96/
-Devarsh (Waltham, Massachusetts, USA) in August 2011 - later joined up with Mason (New Bedford, Massachusetts, USA)
http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/devarsh/
http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/uptown212/
-Becky (Conway, New Hampshire, USA) in October 2010, 2011, and 2013 (a repeat guest!) and Michael (Deep River, Connecticut, USA) in October 2011
http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/snowriver/
http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/mique7704/
-Henryk and Vannessa (Boston, Massachusetts, USA) in August 2016
https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/circerasolt
-Eagle and Avril in November 2016
https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/eagle.gamma

Met and/or Hung Out With:
-Darin (Bangkok, Thailand) in August 2006
https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/darinkong/
-Juan Carlos (Cusco, Peru) in July 2011 at the weekly CS meetup he co-hosts
-Miriam (West Hartford, Connecticut) in July 2011 at the home base of the volunteer vacation program we both participated in
https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/mginsberg/
-Sinan (Istanbul, Turkey) in October 2011 while we were both CouchSurfing with Michelle (Chicago, Illinois, USA)
https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/mevers/
https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/hsmuslu/
-Miranda (Germany) in October 2012 while she was studying at UMass Dartmouth
https://www.couchsurfing.com/users/865255
-Kim (Minneapolis, MN, USA) in April 2016 while I was in Minneapolis
https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/amindlessmuse
-Kirsten (Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA) in July 2016 while WWOOFing in Alaska
https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/kirsten-geiger

Some extras:
-housemate with Elçin from September 2012 to March 2013
(https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/elcinemre)
-housemate with Eva from May 2015 to August 2015
(https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/eva-kam)
-participated in a quilt block exchange with Arika (our fearless leader!), Carole, Sophie, Linda, Sabine, and Angela of the quilting group in the spring/summer of 2011
-exchanged postcards with numerous CSers

Interests

photography, watching movies, learning about different languages and cultures, reading, gardening, quilting

Postcard Project:
When I had a classroom, I set up a display of postcards from around the world. I've already gotten many from fellow Couchsurfers, but I'd like to represent as much of the world as possible. I currently have postcards from:
Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Greenland, Holland, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Korea, Lithuania, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Moldova, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey
If you'd like to help me, please send me a message. I can definitely send you a postcard as well!

• photography
• baking
• yoga
• meditation
• gardening
• movies
• reading
• languages
• linguistics
• film
• sewing
• postcards
• postcrossing
• portuguese
• portugal
• quilting

Music, Movies, and Books

Relevant TED Talk:
http://www.tedxtuhh.de/how-to-travel-the-world-with-almost-no-money/

Television:
-Six Feet Under
-Daily Show

Blogs:
-Sociological Images
-You Are Not So Smart

Radio/Podcasts: (yes, on NPR)
-RadioLab
-This American Life
-Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me
-Prova Oral
-Chicas Poderosas

Books:
-QuirkyAlone: A Manifesto for Uncompromising Romantics by Sasha Cagen
-Satellite Sisters' Uncommon Senses
-anything by SARK
-anything by Miguel Esteves Cardoso
-Women Travel Series by Rough Guides
-I'm a Stranger Here Myself: Notes on Returning to America After 20 Years Away by Bill Bryson

Websites:
-Freecycle - help keep stuff out of landfills, and find some useful stuff to use
-Postcrossing - send and receive postcards

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Sorry, but this won't be limited to just one thing...
-slept in a covered bridge where fireflies lit up the night (2000)
-watched the sunset from Castelo de São Jorge in Lisbon, Portugal while a woman was singing fado music in the background (2002)
-slept on a sand dune in the Sahara in Morocco on a night with a full moon and watched the sunrise that morning (2003)
-visited a town in Brazil with the same name as me (last name) (2004)
-had an hour-long conversation with a Buddhist monk in Bangkok (2006)
-watched the sun come up in Machu Picchu (2011)
-went to Elçin and Erinç's wedding in Turkey (2014)
-saw wall markings tracking the heights of Anne Frank and her sister over time in the annex where they lived for over two years (2017)
-stood underneath the Eiffel Tower and just kept looking up (2018)
-saw cave drawings from 12,000BCE on the island of Levanzo, Italy (2018)

Teach, Learn, Share

If someone wants to practice some Portuguese or Spanish, I'd love to do that. My Turkish isn't quite there yet.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can share some yummy homemade bread or some other baked deliciousness! I love to bake!

Countries I’ve Visited

Brazil, Cabo Verde, Canada, France, Italy, Morocco, Netherlands, Peru, Portugal, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Portugal, United States

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