CURRENT MISSION

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.

ABOUT ME

I try to be Ilse all the time. I'm part wallflower, part social butterfly. I'm equally comfortable when I'm biking around, as when I'm dreaming up short stories. As a sum of all my disparate parts, I'm a dork with a big smile, a tendency to word-vomit, and a penchant for picnics. I believe in leading a simple life style.

I don't go in for the 'rat-race', especially our western/american cookie-cutter ideal of wealth, success, traditional family, etc. I'd like to spend my life finding meaning elsewhere---in places and people and activities that truly ARE meaningful and lovely to me, and respecting that everyone's journey through life looks different. There's no race at all! Being competitive and comparing yourself cuts against the grain of love.

PHILOSOPHY

I think that the best thing that I can do as a human, is to remember that at the end of the day, we are all just a bunch of wild animals.

I also believe in simplicity. I'm no aesthetic but I know I can make my life a lot more pleasant and peaceful if I lead a simpler life style.

Por qué estoy en Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING
Hosting once in a while (I live with 6 people so I have to be conscientious), helping/meeting other couchsurfers, and of course, surfing myself.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have been hosted before in Italy and turkey, and have hosted several people in Uganda and Laos. I have had nothing but wonderful experiences where people opened their homes, and their time to me.

Intereses

I love the right-brained side of life. I love reading, writing, singing, playing guitar, dancing, musing, observing, running, playing, frollicking, and observing the natural world around me. I really enjoy the things in life that have a lot of love poured into them, like a wonderful book, a bizarre creature, or a song that you can't get out of your head or life. I love observing and listening, but I also love talking with people that I am comfortable with. I love the beauty in details.

I'm a blossoming biker and have fallen in love with using a bike as my way to get around and also my way to see the beauty of the world. I'm very interested in reading, writing, and talking about reading and writing. I love eating vegetarian food and drinking good beer. I'm interested in others' philosophies and views on life and finding out what makes them tick as an individual. I'm not good at small talk and never will be, yet I love nothing more than watching a person unfold across from me, over wine, or coffee, and hear how they view the world. I likely don't know anything about professional sports, but I actually love playing sports and have always been a tomboy...specially soccer and ultimate frisbee. I'm nearly equal parts introvert/extrovert and depending on the day, can either wake up a social butterfly, or Leo Tolstoy. However the balance
Seems to tipping heavily towards introvert as I get older.

I always want to be an adventurer, but a mindful one. I'm lucky to be able to have the lifestyle I've had so far.

I love stories and storytelling.

Also, I really like sriracha. I complete a full bottle in about a week. It's not pretty.

• animals
• writing
• books
• singing
• beauty
• dancing
• dining
• vegetarian
• yoga
• running
• meditation
• drinking
• reading
• music
• guitar
• cycling
• adventure races
• surfing
• sports
• soccer
• tea

Música, películas y libros

Movies:
Dazed and Confused
Death at a Funeral
L'auberge Espanol
Airplane
A Hard Day's Night
Mighty Python
The Shining
Hitchcock films

Music:
Mountain man, fleet foxes, radiohead, smashing pumpkins, shins, decemberists, neutral milk hotel, Portishead, Grizzly Bear, Yo yo Ma, Miles Davis, Belle & Sebastian, Joanna Newsom, Arcade Fire, Band of HOrses, Camera Obscura, Neil Young, Pink Floyd, the spinners, Beatles, Stan Getz. Latin/Jazz is tops.

Books:
I love eating books. My thirst is never quenched!
Recent reads are the Ishmael series by Daniel Quinn, my
Struggle by Karl ove knausgaard, Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, Infinite Jest, the unbearable lightness of being, The Short Stories of JOhn Cheever, The Sot-Weed factor by John Barth, The Game of Thrones series, America by Jonathan Franzen, The God of Small Things, America's best short stories 2011, to name a few.

Algo increíble que he hecho

Recently, going to the ancient ruins at Ostia Antica (ancient port town outside of Rome), and seeing the amazingly preserved latrines.

Also, every single damn time that I see a woman in my village carrying 27 times her body weight on her head.

Enseña, aprende, comparte

I can teach you how to throw a mean forehand frisbee, and how to dance to congolese music.

I love sharing music over late night strumming and singing in a cozy living room or outside.

I love learning! Especially when it involves different cultures or food. Also stories. Share your stories with me--I want to hear them!

Qué puedo ofrecer a los anfitriones

At the very least; a safe, comfortable place. Hopefully also conversation, sharing, small adventures, food, and advice.

Países que he visitado

Austria, Belgium, Cambodia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Laos, Malaysia, Mexico, Myanmar, Netherlands, Romania, Rwanda, Spain, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, United States

Países en los que he vivido

Italy, Laos, Uganda, United States

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