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Overview

  • 15 references 7 Confirmed & Positive
  • Fluent in English, Spanish; learning English
  • 48, Other
  • Member since 2011
  • We both work for Naturalia, a wildlife conservation non-p...
  • We were raised by wolves and bears until we learned to sh...
  • From México DF
  • Profile 90% complete

About Me

CURRENT MISSION

To enjoy life, learn to cook, spend time with our friends, train our dog and continue to know new places and people.

ABOUT ME

We are an easy-going couple who loves good food, movies, reading and music. Married since 2002 we moved to the desert city of Hermosillo in 2005 when Naturalia opened a regional office here. Although our background is in graphic arts we have been involved in conservation for more than ten years, because we both love wildlife and feel we should do something to help Mother Earth. Mariana is FINALLY (yes!) studying to become a chef!.

Traveling has always been among our favorite activities and either together or separately we have had several opportunities to explore both our country and nations such as Italy, England, France, Canada, Guatemala and the United States.

We live simply and appreciate austerity, surrounded by books, which we treasure above all other objects. We have been mainly (but not fanatically) vegetarian for several years, which is a challenge in a region proud of its beef. We do not have a TV and have discovered this provides for a lot of free time which we use cooking, reading, playing with our dog and two cats, watching movies and entertaining guests.

Because we have colleagues and friends allover we regularly have visitors to our home and have discovered we enjoy sharing our culture, our food and our time, while learning from them. We have had guests (both CS an d non-CS) from the US, Spain, England, Slovakia, Iceland, Sweden, Rusia, Guadalajara, Sinaloa, Baja California, Mexico City and other towns in the state of Sonora.

When traveling we prefer staying with friends than in Hotels, both because it allows us to use our funds in experiencing new things in the places we visit and because we appreciate the homely sensation of somebody’s house above any hotel room.

PHILOSOPHY

Embrace your spirit animal. Look after your planet, of course live by the 3 R's (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle). Share, love, trust and ALWAYS remember Newton's laws of life: "Every action has an equal and opposite reaction" and "Entropy will take over, no matter how many dishes you've already washed" (or something like that).

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

We joined CS in 2011, we've been couch surfing with non-CS friends for many years, now we do it with CS help. We've been mostly offering a couch but we've done a little surfing. We're happy to have found a group that facilitates this on such a massive scale.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

We have hosted 3 very nice couples, two from Britain and one mixed swede/icelandic and a very pleasant Russian lady. They have all been great, really neat experiences. JC surfed twice in Montana (USA) and had great times. We were also able to help a young traveler a little, when she came to do a medical exam. And we've enjoyed several meetings with local Couch Surfers. GREAT BUNCH OF PEOPLE. It has been really nice to make new friends all over.

Interests

We are interested in traveling to different places, and having new experiences, whether it be sharing a cup of coffee with a friend, attending a concert or seeing wildlife and wild landscapes. We love reading and books in general, scouting for treasures in used book stores, keeping them around us, traveling with them, following/ignoring their advice, sharing them, quoting them, caring for them etc.
We love nature and wildlife and we try make a change when it comes to how people relate to our planet and what places are left for the magnificent creatures we share it with. We love cooking: Finding new recipes that have little or no animal products, having friends over for dinner, cooking with our friends, eating what we cook, etc.

  • animals
  • cats
  • dogs
  • wildlife
  • arts
  • culture
  • books
  • concerts
  • dining
  • cooking
  • recipes
  • coffee
  • mexican food
  • vegetarian
  • movies
  • reading
  • tv
  • traveling
  • music
  • surfing

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others), Ghost dog, Fitzcarraldo, Leolo, Gattaca, Himalaya - l'enfance d'un chef, Hwal (The bow),Gattaca, The Station Agent, El rey del barrio, El esqueleto de la señora Morales, Pueblo de Madera, Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios, almost every movie directed by Hitchcock, My Fair Lady, Every movie directed by Clint Eastwood and by Werner Herzog.

Our favorite authors are Ursula K. Le Guin (JC) and Julio Cortazar (Mariana) We love short stories and have been thrilled to discover Haruki Murakami. We have read Tolkien over and over, both enjoy Jorge Luis Borges, Arthur Conan Doyle and H. Rider Haggard.

Mariana loves poetry and has managed to make Juan Carlos appreciate Mario Benedetti, Jaime Sabines and even Pablo Neruda.

JC's pillow-book is LeGuin's reinterpreting of the "Tao Te King".
Mariana's favorite book is "Historias de Cronopios y Famas"

Favorite music is the toughest to nail down. It depends so much on the mood. We really love soundtracks, how they weave a story with nothing more than abstract sounds, but hey the same happens with a lot of Symphonies form the classical masters.
So a random list will have to do:
Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert. Old Jazz, New jazz, All jazz. World music from allover. Café Tacuba, Joaquín Sabina, Eddie Vedder, Jack Johnson, Soda Stereo, Peter Gabriel, Pink Floyd, Alela Diane, Johnny Cash, The Beatles and the list goes on...

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

We've seen baby sea turtles hatching, and mother turtles laying eggs in the middle of the night. We've seen a golden eagle lift in flight over the prairies of Chihuahua, and howler monkey troops calling out in anger.

Teach, Learn, Share

We can help you improve your Spanish and can teach you about vegetarian Mexican food. We'll gladly share what we've learned about living with a dog. We also know quite a bit about Mexico's wildlife and ecosystems which we are always keen to tell to anyone willing to listen.
We would like to learn about different cultures and dishes, about nature in other regions of the world and about the music of wherever it is you come from.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, France, Guatemala, Italy, Mexico, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Mexico, United Kingdom

Old School Badges

  • 2 Vouches

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