I am traveling a lot this year, but we still can offer a place to stay while we are gone as our daughter lives across the street and can facilitate a stay (though she's not available to show you around, sorry!)

CURRENT MISSION

To make friends, explore the world, and make it a better place

ABOUT ME

I love to experience new cultures and languages and meet people. I am guilty of exploring the world more than my own backyard because travel call to me... I spent part of my teenage years growing up in South America. I get itchy feet after being in one place for a while, so I love to move and have lived in many different places.

I am a "jack of all trades" and have done a lot of different things, from fixing airplanes and computers, to selling cars, working as a tour guide and doing graphic design. There are so many things I like to do, I haven't been able to decide yet!

I also love arts and crafts and almost any artistic medium. I took welding classes to be able to do metal art, and would love to learn to work with glass and stone.

My life at home is mostly mundane and settled (been married for 45 years to a homebody!), but I prefer things that are a bit adventurous, and as I am spontaneous it is not unusual for me to break free from the home front and suddenly be headed off on a trip somewhere -- many times my homebody husband stays home and I hang with my daughter who lives in Japan and has been my couchsurfing buddy, or my sister who now lives in Italy.

PHILOSOPHY

I believe that people are what make a place special. A tourist is someone who visits to see things, take home souvenirs and lots of pictures, so they can say "I was there". A true traveller, on the other hand, understands that there is no joy in just visiting a "place". It is the people that are the heart and soul of the places one visits. The relationships you forge along the way form the essence of truly memorable trips.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I believe in helping people, and am always happy to meet new people, and help them learn about my area, or my country and culture while learning about them. I have hosted several people as well as been hosted. Circumstances in the last few years prevented me from hosting (living in an RV, finally buying a house but doing major major remodeling, caring for my elderly mother, etc.) or even seeking hosting. But I'm ready to hop back in to the community again.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE
I have been a member of Couchsurfing for over 15 years as well as starting out in Hospitality Club. I have hosted people from both organizations, and even took one of our couchsurfers on a 3-day trip to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon. We had a wonderful time. Another couch surfer invited 6 people from her conference to dinner at my house. They were from all over the world and it was a great experience. My daughter and I took a month-long trip in 2010 and had fantastic couchsurfing hosts! We met up with a couch surfer who ran around Singapore with us in 2017. I started hosting again after a 3 year break when I moved to Arizona - both were lovely people. Every Couchsurfing experience I have had has been extremely positive and I look forward to more.

Interests

I love to travel and dream of exotic places and adventures! I am fascinated by all kinds of arts and crafts. We are homebodies when at home, spending a lot of time with family, fixing up the house and yard, or working/playing on the computer.

• horses
• arts
• culture
• design
• graphic design
• perfumes
• clubbing
• crafts
• gardening
• traveling
• socializing
• equestrian
• hiking
• rock climbing
• swimming
• languages
• tourism

Music, Movies, and Books

I like music that makes me want to move, movies that leave you with a good feeling, and books that carry you away from everyday life.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Took a 30-day trip when my youngest kids were 10 and 12 - just the 3 of us - hiking in the jungle, climbing waterfalls, swimming in caves, riding on top of a train, and horseback riding in places I didn't think horses could even go. We stumbled upon a horse-back procession celebrating the patron saint of a tiny village and got to join in by galloping around the central square with the riders, while the whole village cheered us on. It was amazing!

Teach, Learn, Share

I am fluent in Spanish and can help you practice. Being diabetic I try to eat low carb at home and can help you learn about this way of eating (I cook regular food too for family and guests). When traveling I eat anything... well, I draw the line at bugs, couldn’t bring myself to try them...but I love trying local dishes and new foods. I’m a big tropical fruit freak, and love all fruits so when you’re around me you might learn a thing or two about fruits.

We like games and can share how to play mahjong, settlers of catan andmany others ( my latest game addiction is Pokémon go).

Surfers are always welcome to treat my home as their own, do laundry, join us for meals and “Sunday breakfast at Grandma’s”, have a glass of wine and share experiences.

If I have time I am happy to show you around, even though I am not a great tour guide for the Phoenix area. The years I’ve been here I was busy extensively remodeling my house and working with little time to explore. Having surfers again is a good excuse for me to get out myself and see a bit!

What I Can Share with Hosts

A love for good company, travel, and good stories. I’m happy to cook something for you, and though I can’t think of a true “American” dish I’m handy in the kitchen.

I have a large house, and not it is just my husband and I living there. On the side of my house I actually have a 2 bedroom. 1 bath (with kitchen & livingroom) space which I rent out. If it is available, you might get to stay there. Otherwise, I have a guest bedroom in the main house.

We have plans to be gone all end of July to end of September to avoid the worst of the AZ heat, but since we will have a house /dog sitter, and my daughter lives across the street, we can likely work out a stay at our home - we just won't be available to show you around.

Countries I’ve Visited

Andorra, Argentina, Austria, Bahamas, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, England, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Montenegro, Morocco, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Romania, Saint Lucia, Scotland, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Spain, United States

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