CURRENT MISSION

To learn and see as much as possible.

ABOUT ME

I traveled for almost three years with my husband Noah and now-6-yo daughter Lila until we landed in Argentina, and I fell in love with the place.

Now, I live in Salta in the NW of Argentina. It's usually on the traveler's path to Peru, Bolivia, Chile and sometimes Paraguay. A good place to stop for a bit.

Noah and I are started an art and education program here to teach English through photography and technology with the local university. It's amazing work. The students are wonderful. The school is part of the free education system you'll find in Argentina.

We'll all live here until the program is set up and running on it's own. If you're a teacher, photographer, artist or blogger, you might be interested in getting involved.

PHILOSOPHY

To each his own?
Better out than in?
Have a good time all the time?

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I host, surf, meet with surfers wherever I go.

Since we've been living in Salta, we host a monthly international dinner. And whenever I'm in a new town, I usually put together some kind of CS meetup.

Check the Salta Group for more information on these dinners and everything else going on in Salta.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I try to be in touch with CSers wherever we go, be it to surf or for a drink or just to say hi.

Surfed with us: Ariella, Heli and Ilkka, Monica, Lauren, Tiffany and Jennifer (honorary if not members yet), Manisha and Alberto. Daniel. Javier. Sally. Ricardo and Sara. Horacio. Erin and Simon. Audrey and Dan. Craig and Linda. Janine. Angela. Aracely and Jason. RIcardo and Sara. Morgaine and Sylvain, Simon and Erin, Janine, Craig and Linda, Angela, Horacio, The Vogel Family, Frederik, Danny & Jillian, Marylaula and family, Damien, Chiaki, Rowan, Talei and Gemma.... many more.

We have someone here almost every week. More and more all the time.

Surfed with: Matteo, Susanna, Maryanick (nothing like it), Tom, Ken, Jaime and Adam (met thru Maryanick), Audette, Wendy, Martine and Normand (who made me change my mind about skydiving), Lucie, Randall and Stephanie. Werner. Christy.

Whenever we put down anchor somewhere, we become part of the CS community there... Buffalo, Atlanta, Panama, Costa Rica. NYC. And most definitely Salta. It's an amazing community here.

And in Salta, we've started having international dinners. About once a month. We choose a type of food and then all try to cook it together.

Interests

I love trying new things. I'm a big believer in first times. New cities, places, languages. Last year, the new thing was Burning Man. This year, I'm learning to spin fire. Right now I'm just learning with the poi and staff.

Also.. bungie jumping. I've always been petrified of heights. There's a place about an hour and a half away from our place in Salta with bungie jumping. I finally did it!! January 2011.

I love all dancing, plants, biology in general, hiking, yoga, herbal medicine, homeopathy, bird watching (thanks to Heli and Ilkka), kayaking. Reading and of course writing. Cooking.

Love love love swimming in lakes where the water is clear, cool and I have no hope of touching the bottom, running, biking, diving, and surfing.

I can spend an afternoon reading or talking over a coffee. When I visit new places I like to explore by walking and getting lost.

• birds
• arts
• writing
• photography
• dancing
• education
• dining
• cooking
• coffee
• yoga
• running
• walking
• drinking
• technology
• reading
• traveling
• cycling
• hiking
• kayaking
• surfing
• scuba diving
• skydiving
• swimming
• biology
• teaching
• languages
• medicine
• lakes

Music, Movies, and Books

I listen to music all the time. Whatever music makes me want to dance is my favorite. Bird and the Bee. Shaggy. Stereolab. Air. Katy Perry, even.

Books... Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Paulo Coelho. Really South and Central American literature has probably has the largest influence on my writing. Any sort of science fiction or magical realism. I also love anything involving the history of China (any part, any time, anything), politics, well, I'm pretty open to reading anything.

Movies... Fifth Element. Spririted Away. Baraka. Big Lebowski. Safe Men. Snatch. Lock Stock, too. Rear Window. Maltese Falcon. Godfather. Goodfellas. 2001. Minority Report. Conan the Barbarian. Sin City. I recently saw Benjamin Button on a bus going across the Andes and was surprised at how much I liked it.

We don't have much access to English books here. They tend to be very expensive. So if you bring a book and want to leave it behind, I'm happy to trade for one on our shelves. I can also show you where to find all the best Spanish books.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Saying fuck it, I don't want this anymore, then selling everything and traveling with my husband and daughter.

Seeing the WTC hit and fall (definitely a life changing experience).

Giving birth to my daughter in water. There aren't many good things that can entirely change your world overnight.

Teach, Learn, Share

I give herbal massages. I've been studying herbal medicine for years, but recently at Burning Man started doing some healing work with herbal massages.

I also bake, do yoga, can teach you to do a headstand if you'd like. So far, only one person has taken me up on this.

What I want to learn.... fire spinning. I've started practicing with a staff and have some poi -- that can't be lit. I'm trying to get the movements. Also hulahooping.

Countries I’ve Visited

Aruba, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Egypt, France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Virgin Islands, U.S.

Countries I’ve Lived In

Argentina, Israel, Panama, South Africa, United States

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