Jen and Leigh Jackson's Photo

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Maybe Accepting Guests

  • Last login about 11 years ago

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Overview

  • 20 references 18 Confirmed & Positive
  • Fluent in English, Spanish; learning French, Italian
  • 45, Other
  • Member since 2011
  • Professional Glutton- we love wine and food, and we've bo...
  • Bachelor's Degree plus industry certifications
  • From Littleton Colorado // Whangarei NZ
  • Profile 100% complete

About Me

CURRENT MISSION

Newly back to the US after 10 mos travelling, now we're in Denver Colorado, getting used to NOT living out of our packs.

ABOUT ME

We try to take a bit of everything we encounter and make it part of ourselves.

We're back in the US, following an epic 9 months travelling around and meeting other couch surfers and fantastic hosts. Now its time to give back, and we're happy to host in our new home. We both travel for work, hence the 'maybe' status, so if you'd like to surf at our place then send over a message and we'll see if the dates will work.

We do look for surfers who are interested in a genuine exchange of ideas, stories, and culture- true to the philosophy that CS was built on. So, show us that you took the time to read our profile, and give us a reason to look forward to meeting you! Then the fun begins :)

PHILOSOPHY

Some favorite quotes:

“Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” - Miriam Beard

“Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends. You are constantly off balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things - air, sleep, dreams, the sea, the sky - all things tending towards the eternal or what we imagine of it.” - Cesare Pavese

"All major religious traditions carry basically the same message, that is love, compassion and forgiveness the important thing is they should be part of our daily lives."- Dalai Lama

"To possess a second language is to possess a second soul." (Charlemagne)

"What greater wealth is there than to own your own life and to spend it on growing?" -Atlas Shrugged

"Don't let what you want to say prevent you from discovering things you didn't know you could say. Discovery always trumps intention. There's more in your thoughts than you think." -verlyn klinkenborg, NY Times scribe

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

We've long been proponents of the couch surfing philosophy, and the fact that whatever goes around comes back around. We've hosted HEAPS of friends through our places both in Sydney and in the USA...although that was all before we actually joined CS. We've moved to Colorado after our trip, and now have a nice comfy couch as well as a guest room- ready to host!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

All around: South Africa, the US, and Europe. Been out for drinks with our host and his friends in Paris, watched an anniversary lightshow projected on an 800 yr old church in Reims (Notre Dame du Riems), enjoyed mulls and frittes with wonderful hosts in Brugge, wandered Amsterdam after delicious Chinese with our host, and marveled over our host's mineral collection in Germany (he has over 40 tonnes!), toured Avignon after dark with hosts, tapas in Camino de Laurel in Logrono Spain...more every day!

People are the true gift of travelling.

Interests

Fun to us means active & athletic- the details just depend on where we are: snow/mountains or surf/sun. We love running as a great way to explore a place, and we've done half marathons (and one full) in several cities so far. While living in Sydney, I tried my hand at surfing (it's not as easy as it looks), and in the past few years I've become a really big fan of snorkeling and scuba diving. We're both PADI Advanced certified.

I love to cook, I love to dance, and I've always got a bottle of wine ready to open (or already open!). I read more books than magazines, but never in just one genre- as long as they're interesting. I'm creative and artistic, and I'm pretty damn good at setting up electronics.

  • culture
  • books
  • dancing
  • dining
  • cooking
  • recipes
  • wine
  • running
  • drinking
  • electronics
  • clothing
  • traveling
  • music
  • surfing
  • scuba diving
  • snorkeling
  • mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: Ice Age never misses. Amores Perros, Pan's Labrynth, Snatch, Pulp Fiction. Up. Good Will Hunting. Memento.
Books: Shantaram, Skinny Legs and All, Born to Run, Cien anos de Soledad, East of Eden, Water for Elephants, Atlas Shrugged, Committed
Music: Gorillaz, Phoenix, Faithless, Marley, Zepplin, Beatles, Lemon Jelly, Pinback

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Swam with a dozen green sea turtles, and barely resisted the urge to follow them out to sea!

Watched lions mating in the Serengeti...turns out the 'king of the jungle' is done in 45 seconds. ha! (I have the video to prove it!)

Experienced the thick silence of both a sunset and a sunrise from atop a camel in the middle of the Sahara desert, surrounded by sand dunes.

Teach, Learn, Share

Great hint: The best way to get out funky/sweaty smells from clothes & shoes, soak them in a bucket of water with a couple of denture cleaning tablets. Strange, but works.

Learn: teach us your favorite recipes!

Share: photos, music, stories, perspectives, geeky wine knowledge & food pairings

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Bahamas, Botswana, France, Italy, Kenya, Malawi, Morocco, Namibia, New Zealand, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Tanzania, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, Costa Rica, United States

Old School Badges

  • 2 Vouches
  • Pioneer Badge

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