mandy profile picture

mandy

I am here for Friends and Networking

About Me

I spend most of my time teaching little kids, practicing yoga, belly dancing, listening to music, procrastinating on the internet, and watching foreign films. I could always use more sleep and more time (& $) to travel! Right now, I'm interested in learning as much as I can about Romany cultures. I hope to end up in a rainforest in Latin America, in a yurt in Central Asia, or surrounded by lavender in Provence.I'm going through a lot of good changes. I bought a big old house & have been fixing it up. It's making me realize that I'm an old soul & that I really enjoy going to antique stores. I also just got a new teaching job. I love it. I feel like I'm where I am needed to be. AND BEST OF ALL... I'VE RECONNECTED WITH MY STEP SISTER, MINDY! :) Seriously, I'm really glad b/c she's fun to hang out with!I'm itching to travel again. It's been too long. Although I would love to go almost anywhere outside of the US, my sights are on Eastern Europe or Spain and Morocco.

My Interests

belly dance, tribal fusion, flamenco, romany dance, all kinds of dance really, rainforests, the Achuar and other indigenous Amazonian groups, THE MAYA, central & south america, tribal jewelry (TURKOMAN, KAZAKH, & kuchi), going to concerts, TRAVELLING, INDIA, central asia, foreign movies, laughing, margaritas, french wine, making costumes, being crafty!

Music:

right now i'm OBSESSED with GOGOL BORDELLO... i like pretty much anything, except country & contemporary junk played on mainstream radio... traditional middle eastern, flamenco, all kinds of romany music, balkan brass, egyptian pop, jam bands, reggae, jazz, down tempo, experimental, drum n bass, arabesque, classic rock, psychedelic, etc., etc. taraf de hadouiks, di grine kuzine,les ogres de barback, les hurlements d'leo, beirut, the toids, omar feruk tekbilek, manu chao, the dead, bob marley, amon tobin, karl denson, pentaphobe, lumin, essam karika, pink floyd, neil young, etc., and phish will always hold a special place in my heart...

Movies:

TONY GATLIF IS THE MAN!!! "VENGO" is amazing... latcho drom, exils, WHEN THE ROAD BENDS:TALES OF A GYPSY CARAVAN, all french movies, anything by quentin tarantino or almodovar, moulin rouge, EMIR KUSTURICA -- underground, black cat white cat... the lord of the rings trilogy, breakfast at tiffany's, zoolander, the royal tennenbaums, everything is illuminated

Television:

anything on discovery channel or national geographic channel, colbert report

Books:

the mosquito coast, i rigobertha menchu, jitterbug perfume, love in the time of cholera, 100 years of solitude

Heroes:

the dalai lama, eugene hutz, anyone who opposes our chimp-cowboy president, my mom, my cats, people who stand up for what they believe in

My Blog

HELP THE ACHUAR SAVE THE RAINFOREST & THEIR CULTURE!!!!!!!!!!!

Last summer, I went on a 2 week trip to Ecuador, which included a week at the Kapawi Ecolodge and Preserve on the Rio Capahuari, close to the Peruvian border. While there, I was fortunate to visit Sum...
Posted by mandy on Sun, 18 Mar 2007 08:28:00 PST