CURRENT MISSION

Love God, love our children, simplify life, enjoy life

ABOUT ME

Amos - easygoing attorney who enjoys getting justice for clients, creative,free spirit and likes to try new experiences.
Elizabeth - homeschooled our children through 6th grade, now have part-time business consulting and accounting / tax services for two small businesses. (Previously a fortune 500 exec and CPA, very international background born and raised in Africa and many years as an adult in Europe.)
We have two children who were initially homeschooled but now attend Christian middle / high schools.
All of us - committed Christians. Enjoy meeting new people and hearing about their travels and experiences.

PHILOSOPHY

Don't worry, be happy :-)
(By this we mean: don't get so caught up in thinking about the future or the past that you fail to appreciate, and enjoy the present moment! Love your children, notice the beauty around you, smile!)

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Loved the idea of couchsurfing since I first heard about it. Finally hosted our first three couchsurfers December 2012, April 2013, and May 2013 -- all wonderful experiences!!!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Have never surfed, but got wonderful responses when we inquired about the possibility of surfing once.
As mentioned above, we have really enjoyed hosting!! Hope to host more! (Our children also enjoyed and have asked us to please invite more surfers to visit!)

Interests

Husband - being a gentleman farmer, antique cars, road trips, playing squash,
Wife - reading, tennis, music, international travel, foreign language, learning new things, meeting people

• singing
• beauty
• dining
• walking
• clubbing
• reading
• traveling
• cars
• socializing
• music
• classical music
• hiking
• surfing
• sailing
• skiing
• tennis
• racquetball
• business
• law
• road trips
• mountains
• squash

Music, Movies, and Books

Books - avid reader, some books(or book tapes) specially enjoyed in past 3-4 years include: World is Flat, Blink, Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea, Under the Banner of Heaven, Into Thin Air, Devil in the White City, Nine Parts of Desire, Wealth & Poverty of Nations, several C.S. Lewis, books by Isabella Alden, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Winds of War / War & Remembrance, Sherlock Holmes, Dumbing us Down, Why Johnny Can't Tell Right from Wrong, Just Crusing and Still Cruising, One Year Off, ..... could go on and on... UPDATE 2009: Further books in the past year * Economics in One Lesson * Atlas Shrugged * Long Emergency * Word is Curved * Freakonomics * America Alone * Ecology of Money * Geography of Nowhere * Crash Proof * Collapse: How Societies Choose to Succeed or Fail * Liar's Poker * Confession's of an Economic Hit Man.
Movies - don't see a lot, but enjoy drama and thrillers esp. Also, enjoyed quite a few French movies just the last year, including "Jean de Florette / Manon des Sources" (loved these), Gloire de Mon Pere, and Le Chevre and Les Comperes (both comedies with Depardieu and Pierre Richard). Also became huge fan of BBC 5-part series "Pride & Prejudice" (with Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth). Enjoyed Children of Heaven (Iranian family drama).

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I will have to let Amos respond for himself. For Elizabeth, many beautiful and amazing experiences while traveling come to mind, a few that stand out include:
* Switzerland: watching fireworks on lake in Geneva timed to classical music; hiking and traveling through gorgeous countryside throughout the country; skiing
* Germany: looking over city of Heidelberg at dusk from castle walkway; visiting Neueschwanstein castle
* Belgium: Food in Brussels - eating waffles (gaufres de Liege) from street kiosques; Leonidas chocolates, and meals at many amazing, delicious restaurants in the Ave. Louise area
* France: walking for hours through the gardens of Versailles; visiting the "chateaux de la Loire"; participating several times in wonderful Pierre Barthes tennis camps in Cap d'Agde
* Greece: the wild beauty of Santorini, Meteora, and Delphi
* Ethiopia: Many wonderful visits to Lake Langano
* Kenya: Two Fishes Hotel in Mombasa
* Iceland: Learning about unique and fascinating aspects of Icelandic society, while visiting friends in Reykjavik
* Spokane, WA: Seeing the Northern Lights for the first time (I'm still in awe...); stunning views of the Palouse, picking huckleberries in nearby Priest Lake, ID
* San Francisco, CA: Sailing in the Bay (as a member of a sailing club operated by UC Berkeley)
* Los Angeles, CA: Attending the annual Spring "Pageant" at Rolling Hills Covenant Church in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA (I wish everyone could experience this; it is unbelievable)

Other standout experiences: singing in a small group and being invited to sing for church, city events, radio etc. (despite only modest abilities); tremendous fun tennis experiences (during a tennis fanatic phase, which included belonging to four clubs); train travel throughout Europe on a Eurail pass; growing up in Africa; years of living and working in Europe as an adult -- all a wonderful, dream come true,

Teach, Learn, Share

Enjoy hearing about others's travels, their interests, their lives!

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russian Federation, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Belgium, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Greece, United Kingdom, United States