CURRENT MISSION

Invest in the future of others through economic development work across Latin America, while investing in myself through travelling and exploring our beautiful planet

ABOUT ME

"So I was sitting there in the bar and this guy comes up to me and he said "My life stinks" and I saw his gold credit card and I saw the way he was looking at people across the room and I looked at his face and you know, what a good looking face, and I just said, 'Dude, your perspective on life sucks.'"

I'm a firm believer that perspective is everything and there is very little that a positive attitude and a smile can't fix.

PHILOSOPHY

"Nowadays the world is becoming increasingly materialistic, and mankind is reaching toward the very zenith of external progress, driven by an insatiable desire for power and vast possessions. Yet by this vain striving for perfection in a world where everything is relative, they wander even further away from inward peace and happiness of the mind."-Dalai Lama

Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.Maya Angelou

"We're all built differently - but none of us is here to not make a difference"

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I have surfed in Brazil, hosted in Nicaragua and Argentina, and surfed most recently in Scandinavia summer 2012! Now I am settled into a new city and looking forward to reconnecting with the couchsurfing community.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I met my first couchsurfing host on a flight from NYC to Mexico City in April of 2009. We spent the entire flight laughing and sharing stories about the 2 weeks he'd just finished couchsurfing in NYC. I was so impressed and happy to hear how wonderful his experiences with couchsurfers were, I promised that if I ever came to Brazil, I would sign up on couchsurfing and he would be my first visit. I went to Brazil in 2010, kept my promise, and met a wonderful community of couchsurfers in Sao Paulo. Couchsurfing is now an integral part of any trip I plan and will never look back :)

Interests

cooking, live music, scuba diving, learning about new cultures and traditions (especially food-related ones!), hiking, tequila, and microfinance/economic development issues.

• dining
• cooking
• traveling
• investing
• music
• live music
• hiking
• scuba diving
• snorkeling
• volunteering
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

Book- The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls

Movie- The House of Sand and Fog

Music- anything makes me laugh, smile, think, or tap my toes

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Sitting alone on a beach at sunset after a day of snorkeling in the Galapagos Islands...something small begins to move beside me...I look to my right and see baby sea turtles emerging from the sand...Just me, baby sea turtles, the sea, and the purest life imaginable...BLISS!!!

Teach, Learn, Share

I am very passionate about microfinance, microinsurance, economic development, and alternative economic models (such as cooperativism). I would love to share my knowledge with others, either through discussion/debate or helping couchsurfers get in touch with organizations they can volunteer with.

Also, I LOVE to cook and will happily teach anything you're interested to learn, so long as you promise to teach me a new recipe in return :)

What I Can Share with Hosts

A homecooked meal, many laughs (hopefully laughing with me and not at me, haha!), and my infectious upbeat perspective towards life!

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Austria, Bahamas, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, France, Germany, Greece, Honduras, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Mexico, Netherlands, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Argentina, Cyprus, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Portugal, United States

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