CURRENT MISSION

“Make things as simple as possible, but not simpler.” -Einstein

ABOUT ME

I like to eat cheese, read news online, and spend time outdoors, though I wish I had more time for the outdoors nowadays! I adore all things cute, talk a lot, but enjoy lots of quiet time. People often say I'm silly & quirky, but don't be surprised to catch me in serious mode when there's work to be done! Basically, I like to see what the situation calls for and adapt to that while keeping my inner child alive. :)

PHILOSOPHY

Pragmatism with a big dose of idealism.

Pourquoi je suis sur Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I'm still fairly inexperienced in the official CS community, but have been couchsurfing with friends (and friends of friends) for years. It's cliched, but I love the experience of staying with someone and getting to know them as real people. Having Chinese parents who hosted friends and relatives throughout my growing up, I also take a lot of pride in being a good host!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Before joining CS, I slept on couches, futons, foam pads, cots, dirt, marble floors, and in children's beds. One time a faulty fire alarm went off the entire night (our host didn't have a ladder and it was too late to bother the neighbor). Basically, I can put up with (most) anything for a few nights, it's all part of the adventure!

Centres d'intérêt

Other cultures, languages, dance, theater & live performance arts, traditional handicrafts. Mountain climbing, backpacking & trekking, skiing. Most of all... traveling!

• arts
• theater
• performing arts
• dancing
• cheese
• news
• traveling
• outdoor activities
• backpacking
• hunting
• skiing
• rock climbing
• languages

Morceaux de musique, films et livres

MOVIES
March of the Penguins, Chasing Ice, Up, Man on Wire, The Hangover, (500) Days of Summer, Amelie, 3 Idiots, Elizabeth, Princess Bride, Sound of Music, Breathless (A Bout de Souffle), Monty Python and the Holy Grail, 50s Telugu film "Maya Bazaar" (so beautiful!).

TV
The Daily Show & Colbert Report, Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog, 30 Rock (before it was over), Seinfeld, National Geographic channel.

BOOKS/STORIES
Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage; Flowers for Algernon (short story); Happiness, by Matthieu Ricard; Just finished: Paolo Coehlo's The Alchemist; Starting: Dreaming in Hindi.

RADIO
Mostly: National Public Radio (NPR).

MUSIC
Blondie, Journey, REM, Indigo Girls, Spanish guitar (e.g., Pepe Romero), a capella & lots more 80s pop.

Une aventure extraordinaire que j'ai vécue

Night sky from a small village in China with no ambient light as far as one could see to mask the stars, just amazingly deep darkness & a seemingly infinite number of stars.

Motorcycle trip in the Himalayas of Ladakh, India. We went over one of the world's highest motorable passes (Kardung La, 5359 meters or 17,582 ft high) into the most beautiful valley I've ever seen, chased double-humped camels, ran into a Buddhist monk at just the perfect moment, then watched the sun set before a shooting star appeared.

Enseignez, apprenez, partagez

Love to share my stories about India -- how it's different & the same, what to do or avoid there, why Hinduism is not as "crazy" as many Westerners think, and common misunderstandings. Have helped prepare friends for their India trips before -- and they've always said it was very helpful after!

Love to practice other languages (so far French, Mandarin Chinese, Telugu) and will teach you greetings in each of these!

Pays que j'ai visités

Canada, China, Ecuador, France, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, South Africa, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States, Zimbabwe

Pays dans lesquels j'ai vécu

India, United States

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