LOCATION

My house is in Adelaide, South Australia.

CURRENT MISSION

Life Mission? I am a Prosperity Catalyst, where "prosperity" is the path towards hope, in all senses, not just financially. At the moment, I work towards this by volunteering with Red Cross Emergency Services, and another organisation that supports refugees and asylum seekers.

ABOUT ME

I am the eldest of four girls - officially the matriarch of the family lol.

I have two sensational adult Aussie sons, both of whom are in Australia at the moment (happy Mum). I returned to Adelaide in 2016 after a decade wandering Indonesia, West Africa, South Pacific and the Philippines. I love any partner dancing (salsa, swing, bachata, rock n roll) and I sail, and in the summer I surf on my boogie board.

PHILOSOPHY

Re myself: I've been an extrovert all my life (i.e. I get my energy from the outside world) but I'm starting to learn to discover myself. Re others: A stranger is a friend I haven't met yet. I love people and I love meeting, getting to know and working with new teams of people. And I'm getting clearer about the importance of love. Love - in all its forms, for your lover, your children, your favourite space, your friends, the planet - is what matters. The rest is detail.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I have hosted travellers when I stayed in Ubud, Bali, and in fact can still give people a bed, as I manage a Bali property from a distance.

In 2019 I couchsurfed around Europe?

In Adelaide there is a spare bed/ king single daybed. I have Airbnb guests but usually space for one more. You can stay rent-free for two days - or longer if we get on and the house is quiet - and after that, you can rent for short or long term if there's a room available (my rates match hostel rates in the city). Anyone interested to rent should send me a message asking for details.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

My first official COUCH was with two of the loveliest people in the world in Darwin Australia. She's an artist and he works hard in his own business. Fortunately, he loves cooking, so every night was a treat - dining on the veranda overlooking the beautiful marina and one of Darwin's spectacular sunsets. And then cooking for them, of course, which I loved too. I also stayed with a couple of lovely people in Park City Utah a couple of years ago. My first GUEST was an inspiring woman ten year's older than me who had traveled by herself across the Kalahari teaching her passion for weaving. My second (luckily they weren't the other way round) was AWFUL, starting his two day stay with me with the surly question, "Do you REALLY like this city!?" It went downhill from there. But he's the exception.

Interests

Personal: People, community engagement, Indonesian culture, cooking, salsa, rock n roll, blues and many other styles of partner dancing, entertaining, drawing & painting, karaoke and Open Mike Night!

Professional: encouraging effective communication in international disasters.

• culture
• dancing
• dining
• cooking
• boating
• painting
• drawing

Music, Movies, and Books

I love blues, swing, jive and rock and roll. Singing it, listening and partner dancing to it. I'll even dance salsa if there's no other choice. I also love African music now, and I sing in an African Gospel choir called Hot Gospel I read voraciously, mostly science fantasy and science fiction, but with the occasional "who done it?" mixed in. I really love autobiographies. You learn so much from others' challenges.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Chatted with a huge turtle on the deck of a sunken ship, on the sea floor off the coast of Hawaii. Taught Modern Jive to Indonesian teenagers with my dance instructor son, using the "Leader"/ "Follower" roles as metaphors for how we need to work together as partnerships in life. (oops, that's two)

Teach, Learn, Share

Definitely one of the most useful things I have ever learned is an understanding of Personality Type - both to understand myself better, and to crack the code on those other people who are different from me! The single most helpful learning ever. I can teach self-confidence - or being brave when you are not - by trying something new.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Stories of my humanitarian adventure in disaster zones, recipes from every country I've worked in, laughter. Washing up too.

Countries I’ve Visited

Burkina Faso, China, England, France, Germany, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Spain, Switzerland

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, Burkina Faso, Indonesia, New Zealand, Philippines, Solomon Islands, United States

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