ABOUT ME

After roaming in East Asia (China, Taiwan, Hong Kong) for 8 years, finally figured out I wanted to be a language teacher. After 6 years teaching Chinese at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey and Oahu, my conscience got me to realize that language teaching is supposed to build bridges - not bombs, and have been teaching Mandarin in the Portland public schools since 2007. I’m a single parent to a 16 yr old son, Kai (Ocean).

PHILOSOPHY

Carpe Diem!
Laughter is the secret to health and longevity (my grandmother's wisdom - she lived to 98).

我为什么加入 Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Crashed with Chinese grunge rockers in Chengdu, villagers in Java, Indonesia, intellectuals in Hong Kong, friends all over Europe, and home stays in Cuba, Cambodia, and Suzhou, China.

兴趣

Surfing (warm ocean waters, if possible), soccer (both playing and watching), hiking, food, food, and food...oh yeah, and of course traveling.

• dining
• traveling
• drums
• hiking
• surfing
• soccer
• teaching

音乐、电影和书籍

3 Cups of Tea, Kite Runner, American History X, Babel, To Live. West African music.

我做过的一件不可思议的事情

Hitchhiked by truck to Lhasa, Tibet from Qinghai Province. Took me 2 days and 2 nights, so arriving in Lhasa truly felt like arriving in the Shangri-La.

教，学，和分享

Taichi - 20 years.
Chinese language - trained teacher.

我游览过的国家

China

我居住过的国家

China, Ghana, Singapore, Sweden, United States

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