CURRENT MISSION

do good

ABOUT ME

I play the banjo (clawhammer, not bluegrass.) My husband Mark, son Ryland and I own a "global cuisine" restaurant called Salaam in a college town in the Appalachian part of Ohio; I'm the executive chef and spend a lot of time dealing with restaurant stuff. We're the number one restaurant in Athens, Ohio on TripAdvisor, and have won numerous "Best Ethnic Cuisine" awards.
People who know me would agree that I am somehow both the laziest and the hardest-working person imaginable. I married my high school sweetheart, and am still really glad that I did. I used to teach culinary arts in 7 different prisons. I also taught adult basic literacy and did 7 years of home day care when my own kids were small. I lived overseas a lot growing up, (Pakistan, Ethiopia) and more recently traveled to Eleuthera in the Bahamas; India; Nepal, and Australia. I'm currently planning a trip to France. It's a mystery to me, but I tied for "coolest person in Athens County" in our local newspaper; first runner up was Jorma Kaukonen!

PHILOSOPHY

I try to: Do the right thing. Love those I have no met as well as those I have. Live as a citizen of the world.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

At this point, my participation in CS is mostly through providing a place to stay to folks who are passing through Athens, OH or considering moving here. If I was still doing a lot of the sort of traveling I did when I was young (ah, CS, where were you when I needed you??) I'd be surfing couches far and wide.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

For many years I played in a band that toured throughout north america, and we stayed at the homes of lots of folks we didn't know. It was almost always a GREAT experience. But for some reason, a long-ago couchsurfing story popped into my mind. I was about 18 and had hitchhiked, with my banjo and dog, to the Kent State Folk Festival. It was late and I didn't have a place to stay, so I went to some funky little all-night diner and ate a "garbage burger" (if memory serves me!) There I met a guy who said I could sleep on their couch in their (cooperative) farmhouse out of town. He drove me out there and I bunked down on the couch. Just as I was drifting off to sleep, a guy came into the house and walked into the dark living room where I was. I pretended to be asleep. He walked over to the record player and I heard the sound of a new cellophane record wrapper being removed. He sat quietly and listened to the whole record, on both sides, and so did I (with my eyes shut.) The music was amazing! As soon as he left and went upstairs to bed, I went over to the stereo to see what the music was. It was the Ry Cooder album Paradise and Lunch. I've been a Ry Cooder fan ever since.

Interests

old-time music. banjo (frailing/clawhammer, not bluegrass.) cooking. reading. linguistics, though I never finished my masters in it. crosswords and stupid word-oriented computer games and scrabble. when I want to know the answer to a question, I want instant gratification; that's why I use my iphone about a zillion times a day for everything imaginable.

• animals
• dogs
• horses
• arts
• festivals
• cooking
• reading
• traveling
• animal care
• music
• guitar
• piano
• surfing

Music, Movies, and Books

hmm... Movies: The Princess Bride, My Cousin Vinny, The Jerk, Love Actually, Garden State. I'm sure there are lots of movies I love, but these popped into my head.
Books: Cutting for Stone, Jane Eyre, The Material World, Hungry Planet, The Trigger Point Massage Workbook, just about any cookbook, the Onion books, Bill Bryson books, and on and on...
Music: Old-time, and just about anything else except Cookie Monster-style death metal

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

ONE amazing thing? I've seen and done a lot of amazing things. Umm... I met Haile Selassie and talked with him (about horses.)

Teach, Learn, Share

I teach old-time clawhammer (frailing) banjo. I'm always happy to trade some lessons for a little work around our house or restaurant. My husband plays fiddle, trombone and bass and our son Ryland plays piano, guitar. accordion, banjo uke and fiddle.

What I Can Share with Hosts

cooking, music instruction, funny stories, animal care

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Greece, India, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, Nepal, Pakistan, Spain, Sweden, Tanzania, Uganda, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Ethiopia, Pakistan, United States

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