CURRENT MISSION

DON'T PANIC! :)

ABOUT ME

I'm like your grandmother, but younger. I have an owl collection. I crochet. I fill silences with endearing muppet sounds. I try to ride my bike as much as possible.
I’m questing for travel friends, new views, wit, compassion, yurt builders, city farmers, beekeepers, vikings, Jim Henson. I like kitty cats, resourceful cooking (meaning I try to use every bit of food that I have so nothing goes to waste), and seeing things from a new perspective.
I am a landscape architect, a tinkerer, and a traveler. :) Used to be bound to an office job, but when I was laid off in 2009 I decided to follow an old dream and move to Barcelona Spain, where I was an au pair for 3 adorable Catalan children. Because my duties were to speak English with the family at all times, my Spanish and Catalan are still at basic levels, but I can understand much more than I can speak! :) The au pairing opportunity gave me time to simplify my life, when you are living out of two suitcases for a year, it's easy!!! I returned to Pittsburgh after the glorious year of travel and work in Europe, and now I'm working at a few odd jobs and enjoying this life as it comes :]

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Good karma and optimism! :) To remind myself that strangers are only strangers until you introduce yourself.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

none yet, but I've heard so many good things about it that I'm hoping to give it a shot. while I was traveling in Spain and Morocco I met so many people in hostels from all walks of life, and that reminded me that it's GOOD and HEALTHY to trust people, and that sometimes we need to take that leap. :)

Interests

photography, hiking, travel, cycling, landscape design, historic preservation, urban farming, re-purposing old stuffs!

• cats
• architecture
• design
• photography
• dining
• cooking
• traveling
• crochet
• cycling
• hiking
• au-pair

Music, Movies, and Books

Watching:
Anything with Paul Newman :] and….
The Big Lebowski, Swingers, Secretary, The Triplets of Belleville, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Adaptation, Royal Tenebaums, Life Aquatic, Amelie, Ghost Busters, Groundhog Day, Koyaanisqatsi, Blues Brothers, Casablanca, Breakfast at Tiffanys, My Fair Lady, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Danny Deckchair, Office Space, Death to Smoochy, The Piano, Secret of NIMH, The Princess Bride

Listening:
Music that slows me down, music that speeds me up, Wurlitzers, trumpets, anything funky, Yo La Tengo, The Magnetic Fields, Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, David Bowie, Lou Reed, American Analog Set, Grizzly Bear, Radiohead, Edith Piaf, Stereolab, Wilco, Detroit Sex Machines, James Brown, Portishead, The Greatful Dead, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Jenny Lewis, Mazzy Star, Iron and Wine, Silvio Rodriguez!!!

Reading:
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, The Fountainhead, Fair and Tender Ladies, Lord of the Rings Trilogy, On the Road, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Dwell and National Geographic Magazine, books about green roofs, all Douglas Adams, Tom Robbins, Gabriel García Márquez…If you can recommend/lend me a book I’d be grateful

and Eating:
Yes, I love food. Indian, Moroccan, Lebanese food, sushi!!!, organic whole foods, nearly anything involving chocolate, good wine, good beer.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Sleeping on the roof of a hostel in Marrakesh and hearing the call to prayer swell up all around us just before dawn. It was so loud and powerful and amazing that I was moved to tears. Hundreds of thousands of souls from all over the city, chanting with one voice. W O W.

Countries I’ve Visited

Fiji, Germany, Ireland, Morocco, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, Spain, United States

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