CURRENT MISSION

To experience every culture I possibly can. I don't want to simply visit and see the sights.

ABOUT ME

I think I am really old by couchsurfing standards but please don't hold it against me because I have no idea how it happened. Until I was forced to go to Japan in 2005 I thought I was just a frumpy homebody suburbanite but I discovered this totally weird person inside me who liked sleeping on the floor in a 9th floor, 200 sf apartment in the middle of Tokyo! In hindsight I would have made so many different choices in my younger life - Peace Corps, world travel foremost among them. My job is about to send me to South America for 6 or 12 months so I have no idea how I will manage this as far as couchsurfing goes - if I have a couch in SA it will be available!

PHILOSOPHY

Nothing is a big deal in the end. We get back only as much as we put in. Happiness is a choice that can be made every day.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Just getting started here. Will update

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

When I lived in Japan I read many blogs about the ex-pat experience in Japan. Blah blah blah - this is a long freaking story. Anyway, in June (2007) a guy whose blog I had been reading for at least 2 years was coming to Atlanta and I told him to just come crash on my couch. This was not through couchsurfing but it ended up being a great experience!

Interests

seeing the world, home improvement (DIY), learning new languages, world history, improving the earth

• culture
• diy
• reading
• traveling
• blogging
• knitting
• history
• languages

Music, Movies, and Books

I read all the time. Love Charles Dickens and Gabriel Garcia-Marquez but also mind candy like detective novels. John Cusack is my celebrity crush. My tastes in music run from hip hop to medieval sacred music.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

The most amazing thing I have seen was the Great Buddha in Kamakura Japan. I took a photo on my 3.2 megapixel Sony cyber-shot and it was exactly like the photos I have seen in National Geographic! I have been tothe top of the Empire State Building, the Eiffel Tower, and Tokyo Tower. I have spent a long weekend at a traditional Japanese ryokan in Nikke Japan and saw the original "monkey-see, monkey-hear, monkey-say" carving.

Teach, Learn, Share

I don't know what to say here. My best lessons have been learned from my mistakes - like getting married too young (once) and for the wrong reasons (once). Like getting into monumental debt and then resolving it. Like realizing I am not immortal so I need to stop living as if I am. Like the simplest of things are the best. Also I could teach anyone to knit.

Countries I’ve Visited

France, Saint Lucia

Countries I’ve Lived In

Japan, United States