Adventurer, physician, herbalist, life coach

I'm an urban homesteader, writer, and filmmaker living in my hometown of Eugene, Oregon. I spent a lot of my childhood in Western Australia and Bali, playing in the mud and serving wild greens up to Kangaroos. I was homeschooled and toted all around the globe, until I was about 10 and we settled back down in my hometown. I am married to my best friend, Michael, and together we have two beautiful little dogs named Olive and Spice. I spend my time reading second hand books, baking sourdough, cooking and preserving food, thrifting trinkets and sweaters, tending our tiny garden, creating short films, volunteering, singing, dancing and working my regular boring 9-to-5 job! I'm a big Wendell Berry fan and passionate advocate for distributist models of society. My current goal in life is to live a low-consumption lifestyle that is gentle on the Earth, to grow in the fruits of the Spirit and loving relationship with my divine Creator, to regain primitive skills and re-wild myself in the machine age, and to care for my fellow humans. Hospitality is a major interest for me, as well as a joy, which is why I'm on Couchsurfing in the first place. I hope to give refuge to the weary and provide a peaceful space for others to rest. As a guest, I'm looking to wander off the beaten path, meet new people, and experience the world without the gloss of tourism and commerce.

I am an avid traveler in my home country and I started traveling the world with my wife of 10 years in June of 2019. My hometown is Portland, Oregon USA, and I've lived there most my life. Now we live in Eugene, Oregon and just bought our first home. In 2019, we were traveling full time (read more about our journey at www.bigtinyworld.com) and working toward never returning to the 9-5 grind. Some fun articles we've written: https://bigtinyworld.com/about-us/ (everything you could want to know!) https://bigtinyworld.com/2018/05/03/5-things-to-not-do-in-portland/ (tips on our city from locals) https://bigtinyworld.com/2019/07/04/we-were-robbed-while-traveling-how-you-can-learn-from-our-mistake/ (our harrowing tale of surviving Cape Town) https://bigtinyworld.com/2019/08/15/okonjima-nature-reserve-the-african-cat-experience/ (big cats in Africa!) https://bigtinyworld.com/2018/01/11/loathing-for-idaho-a-road-trip-horror-story/ (why we wish the state of Idaho would fall off the face of the planet...) Videography and travel are my passions, and I am working hard to improve my skills and document our adventures around the globe. Meeting people of diverse backgrounds is very rewarding and I look forward to meeting you. About my wife, Brianna (with whom I'm traveling): Brianna is an explorer who blazes her own path. She left a career as a software engineer to travel the world, sample international cuisines, and photograph everything in between. She is an aspiring pro photographer (see her work at www.lotsasmilesphoto.com), and she is obsessed with cats (you'll be her best friend if you have one.. or two.. or four). She wants to experience new cultures and see cities and scenic landscapes around the globe... anything that's photo-worthy! She also runs a cat crochet business making little geeky kitties from yarn. I am running a travel business currently and have an online job while I am building the business.

CURRENT MISSION ABOUT ME I recently got married and I'm so fortunate to have found such a compatible and supportive partner . I am currently working as an Elementary School Counselor and I just love it - such a rewarding job working with kids. I also do Real Estate on the side. I enjoy hiking, backpacking, travel, dancing to live music, bouldering, coffee & conversation, going out to eat, & meeting new people. Through Couchsurfing.org I am seeking adventure and to expand my horizons through meeting new people and learning new perspectives. PHILOSOPHY I believe in the power of positivity. I always try to find things to be grateful for even in rough times. I view my life as a gift.

CURRENT MISSION We would like to see as much of the world as possible. ABOUT ME We returned to Eugene, Oregon in 2015 after 15 years in New York. We left on September 15, 2010, to travel around the world for one year. We managed to hit 6 continents and had a great time couchsurfing and meeting incredible people. We are now back in the US. We miss traveling and have decided to take a month off each year to explore a new place. We love to travel and do so as often as possible. Lynda quit college at 19 years old and bummed around the US for a while. She later returned to school and finished and saved enough money to backpack across Europe. She loved it! We both enjoy meeting other people and learning about their culture/customs. Lisa has done extensive travel within the US including backpacking adventures in the Grand Canyon, Wilderness Areas in Northern California and Pacific Crest Trail. In 2013 we went on a month long trip to 9 National Parks (6 in the US and 3 in Canada) with our daughter and her cousin. We saw incredible wildlife!! We sat for hours watching nursing big horn sheep, bison, and elk. Amazing! If you send an email to surf with us and I don't respond within 24 hours, please try me at the following email address: lzukaitislaw@gmail.com. I rarely use the address connected to this profile. We are not into partying, bars, smoking of any kind, heavy drinking. We enjoy the outdoors and generally spend as much time as we can outside. We are pretty liberal and open-minded and enjoy meeting other travelers, hearing their stories and viewing their pictures. We are always interested in cool places to visit that can only be learned through talking to other travelers. Many of our activities now involve camping. (we have a small NuCamp teardrop trailer and use it often for long weekends exploring Oregon. ) We also enjoy hiking, kayaking and cross country skiing. PHILOSOPHY Our personal philosophy is to have fun with friends and family, travel (although mostly in the US now)

I'm a single queer father living in Eugene with a few housemates. I lived in Eugene the last 18 years, and I was in Portland for 10 years before that. I have a nice, steady faculty job as a Senior Research Assistant at the University of Oregon. I also perform musical theater and queer burlesque. I took my one-man show, "Confessions of an Aging Twink," to the Victoria Fringe Festival last summer, and I will be taking it to the Vancouver Fringe Festival this September. I have a great sense of humor, and I always make sure to use my humor for niceness instead of evil. I've spent quite a bit of time during the last few years in Cameroon, and I'm engaged to be married to a Cameroonian man I met there. We're just waiting on his visa (it takes a really long time!) My grandfather used to say, paraphrasing Ben Franklin, that life is too short to drink cheap wine. I try to live my life by that. He also said that money can't buy you happiness, but it sure can spare you a lot of misery!

I run a festival based food restaurant during the summer. The winters I spend in Europe, mostly in Spain. I also like to do ceramic arts and make mosaics as a hobby.

CURRENT MISSION I am currently working abroad as an electrician for an NGO that serves the victims of war violence. ABOUT ME That I am generous and full of stories. I work hard in order to play hard. And that definitely translates into having a bottomless bucket of adventure.