I am a semi-retired professional woman who has been blessed with a lot of fun in my careers, whether it be teaching pastry seminars or white water rafting. I have restored and raced antique cars of the 1920's since my teens, and taught, coached and tutored a myriad of activities, from aquatic choirs to bringing history alive through unique programs. In my 30's I adventured in the schools across California seeding programs, helping teach life skills to kindergardners while learning chess on a soccer field-sized chessboard. I like playing in the kitchen as well as in the garage, am an avid reader and bibliophile, but most of all enjoy meeting individuals with diverse interests throughout the world. Life is meant to be embraced and enjoyed fully, and it just keeps getting better with each decade.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I love meeting people and learning about their adventures and hometowns in this crazy world we all inhabit.
Through my travels my lifelong twin passions of music and sports showed me long ago that we all have so much in common, if we just reach out and get to know one another. Although English is my only truly fluent language, I've found smiles are a universal language.

Interests

• table tennis
• historical research
• baking pies
• antique cars and warbirds
• music from the big band era

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: Oldies, from Tin Pan Alley through the 1970's
Movies: Classic flicks, especially the 1930's and 40's
Books: Rather eclectic, from sci fi to Richard Halliburton's 1930's classics; also obscure biographies found in delightfully musty old bookshops

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

First woman whitewater guide in California when I was still a teenager on one of our last wild rivers in California. I was challenged to an arm-wrestling contest with the program director before he would allow me to undertake training, as women had only participated previously as camp cooks. Living the summer on the Kings River, where the U.S. Olympic Kayaking team trained, cooking our food underground while we ran our trips, taking passengers down the rapids and seeing their excitement, a wonderful staff of incredibly diverse people, a huge snowpack that year and really great rapids... best summer of my life.

Teach, Learn, Share

Teaching Music: Piano with all 3 methods interwoven (note-reading, by ear, and chord), Sight-singing, Sight-reading, Vocal, Flute, Ukelele, and simple composing for all ages, Audition Training
Coaching/Teaching: Volleyball, tennis, sprinting tips, swimming, diving, rafting, badminton, table tennis, bowling...
Tutoring: most subjects K-8th grade, including simple repair projects, cooking, and baking seminars

What I Can Share with Hosts

Whatever you may need, from helping hands doing outdoor projects (yes, I split wood for 20 years living in the Sierras, so I can handle a maul) to teaching someone how to play Happy Birthday or a Beatle favorite on a basic keyboard. I like playing in the kitchen (healthy pie pastry is not an oxymoron!), as well as teaching someone how to minimize their fear of swimming through gentle and creative instruction.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Bahamas, Brazil, Canada, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Spain, Thailand, Venezuela

Countries I’ve Lived In

Spain, Thailand, United States