“Animals and things make languages,
through us the universe talks with itself.
Since the beginning of the beginning,
what does it say? It says that it says us.
It says it to itself.”
- Octavio Paz

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I love to host and love to surf!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Every single experience has been wonderful. From hosting a healthy handful of surfers here in Wichita, KS to my surfing experiences in New York and Maine, I've had nothing but good times.

Interests

Reading and writing. I love to read novels and poetry, and I keep a journal. Hiking is wonderful. Wandering around rural Maine on a cold clear night thrills me. Music and dancing.

• arts
• writing
• books
• literature
• poetry
• dancing
• dining
• cooking
• coffee
• running
• drinking
• flowers
• reading
• music
• hiking
• surfing

Music, Movies, and Books

Anna Karenina, Mansfield Park, a large handful of Walt Whitman's poetry, The Odyssey and The Iliad, Pablo Neruda's poetry (I am thinking of "Residencia en la tierra"), "The Gutenberg Elegies" by Sven Birkerts, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark by Carl Sagan, Moby-Dick, Bleak House and again, I could continue the list into next year!

Jim Harrison, who died recently, is wonderful. His book of poems "Songs of Unreason" is perhaps my favorite collection. The title sounds a little hokey, and I was skeptical. I expect a lot from a song of unreason, you know. Harrison delivers.

Lately, I’ve been reading a lot of books about the history of natural sciences. Andrea Wulf’s “The Invention of Nature” offers a rich view of how we came to see the planet as a single living organism and who we have to thank for it. Also, anything written by Richard Holmes is stellar.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I jumped from some cliffs in Acadia National Park into the ocean during the winter in Maine.

Teach, Learn, Share

I love literature. Reading is a sheer joy for me. Classic literature never ceases to interest me. I can share many practical skills in reading and many reveries on the delight of the art.

I’m an English teacher at a middle school here in town!

What I Can Share with Hosts

Food, drink, laughter, conversation, books, poems, coffee.

I mean, it's really a long list.

Countries I’ve Visited

England, France, Germany, Kyrgyzstan, United Arab Emirates, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

United Arab Emirates, United States