CURRENT MISSION

Delving into the intricacies of Orientalism

ABOUT ME

People are quick to notice my quirky sense of humor and odd vocabulary interspersed with Cockney rhyming slang (my father is from London). And sometimes they notice a hat that is often perched on my head.
I have a spring in my step. I see only the good in people. I love vintage hats and a good joke. I am quirky, jovial, and well-fed.

PHILOSOPHY

I could not live without the following:

1) Family
2) Friends
3) FOOD
4) Exercise
5) Laughter
6) Adventure

I have found that the more languages one knows, the more friends one has! And food definitely counts as its own language to communicate affection and appreciation. ;-)

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I caught the travel bug two years ago with my first solo trip to London and Cairo to conduct research for my senior honors' thesis. Since then, I enjoy looking at maps to see where I want to go next!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have only done couchsurfing at friends' places that I knew ahead of time but the world is full of amazing people and I look forward to meeting new friends and expanding my global, social network!

Interests

I love yoga sessions, dancing, playing the piano, sketching in gray tones, frequenting art museums and architectural monuments, and long walks in foreign cities and socializing with my incredible friends. I also love portraits! Meet me for a sitting in the golden light while my hands are a flurry of graphite and charcoal marks.

• arts
• folklore
• sketching
• dancing
• dining
• exercise
• yoga
• traveling
• socializing
• piano
• muslim
• cartography
• languages

Music, Movies, and Books

Books: Ul de Rico's The Rainbow Goblins, Graeme Base's Animalia and The Eleventh Hour, Dinotopia, Trumpets in Grumpetland, Grandfather Twilight, The Patchwork Cat, Maurice Sendak's Dear Milli (yes, these ARE all children's books).

Movies: the ORIGINAL Indiana Jones trilogy (NOT the 4th atrocity), Bab 'Aziz (although I only saw it once and instantly swooned), Sean Connery's 007 flicks.
[Subset to Movies section: TV Shows: Strangers With Candy, Brit Coms, Arrested Development, things that make me laugh!]

Music: world music. Anything and Everything. From Uzbeki to Indian to Arabic Pop to Persian Classical to Erik Satie and Debussy to Loreena McKennitt. And classical! But I ain't pretentious about it.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Do I have to pick one? I could easily say the pyramids of Egypt, the Sphinx, the rosy glow of Petra, etc etc, but I find it amazing and wonderful to reunite with my family and friends after long absences.

Teach, Learn, Share

It is my hope to become a leading scholar on the transmission of motifs taken from the Middle Eastern tradition (pre-Islamic and Islamic) and how they are inserted into European paintings and the advertisements of today. I am interested in how images can be powerful tools leading to stereotyping and bias.

Countries I’ve Visited

Egypt, France, Jordan, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States