Cassandra Grindall's Photo

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  • Last login about 6 years ago

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Overview

  • 18 references 15 Confirmed & Positive
  • Fluent in English, Japanese, Spanish; learning Dutch, Khmer, Nepali, Thai
  • 59, Female
  • Member since 2012
  • Writer, Information Technology, ESL Teacher,
  • Some post graduate work
  • From Long Beach, CA, USA
  • Profile 100% complete

About Me

CURRENT MISSION

To practice radical acceptance. I want to be accepted for who I am, and I must return this in kind.

ABOUT ME

I care more about people than things. In this world that can make me a bit of a rebel.

PHILOSOPHY

Accept nothing less than freedom. Share myself freely. Kindness is it's own reward.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

When I lived in Long Beach I hosted people there in my Bungalow four blocks from the beach. I had a lot of good experiences. Now I am traveling, and I intend to visit many more countries before settling down in Amsterdam. I can't wait until I can host once more, but for now, I live on the road.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have hosted about 10 people at my place in Long Beach. I have met up with many wonderful people around the world.

Interests

I love trekking. I have walked the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal and the Langtang valley trek. I have hiked in the high mountains of California, and across the islands of Cambodia. I love music and dancing, and I can keep up with people half my age. I am politically conscious, so that is one reason I decided to leave the US and live abroad from now on. I love art, museums, architecture and urban environments. I am a secular student of the history and evolution of religious belief and practice and am currently working on a book about Buddhism in the ancient central asian kingdoms of Bactria.

  • arts
  • books
  • architecture
  • dancing
  • dining
  • cooking
  • breakfast
  • traveling
  • music
  • buddhist
  • history
  • beaches
  • mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

Symbolic Species, by Terrence W. Deacon, no book ever kicked my ass so much, and made me a different person. Atoms of Language by Mark Baker opened my eyes to the way the brain processes grammar and made it easier for me to absorb languages. Guns, Germs and Steel and Collapse by Jared Diamond inform me about the geographical and cultural foundations of human civilization. History fascinates me. As far as Fiction I am a huge Harry Potter nerd. I love Star Trek, and SciFi in general. I don't watch much TV, but I am not militant against it.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I've been pushed over a barrel by an academy award winning actress.

I've been in a food fight with Joe Strummer from the clash.

I've stepped over a dead body on my way to breakfast.

All those things happened in the same week, in Nicaragua in 1987.

Teach, Learn, Share

I taught English in Japan for 4 years. I also taught in Mexico for a year. I have been an extra in a movie. I am transgender and I am open about educating people about it.

What I Can Share with Hosts

My stories, my love of cooking, advice for travel, my friends and contacts are your friends and contacts. I know people from Japan to Nepal to Cambodia...

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Cambodia, Canada, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Italy, Japan, Laos, Nepal, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Panama, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Cambodia, India, Japan, Mexico, Nepal, United States

Old School Badges

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