I firmly believe in "trying to" live life to its fullest, so I have LOTS of travel stories! :: Visited the west coast of Greenland and hiked its Arctic Circle Trail Hiked Nepal's fantastic Everest Base Camp Trek Enjoyed epic hiking around Kyrgyzstan's Khan Tengri Base Camp Driven Iceland's Ring Road and hiked its stunning Landmannalaugar Trek. Enjoyed extensive hiking in Argentina's Glaciares NP and Chile's Torres Del Paine NP; (Patagonia) Explored several of the stunning Faroe Islands Scuba-diving in America, Thailand, and the Philippines Traveled in Morocco's Sahara and Mongolia's Gobi deserts Climbed & hiked around Cambodia's Angkor Wat Climbed different parts of China's Great Wall Explored Indonesia's fantastic ruins at Borobudur & Prambanan Ridden elephants in Thailand, horses in Mongolia and Kyrgyzstan, and camels in Egypt Traveled throughout India Explored the wonders of Jordan's Petra, Wadi Rum, Wadi Mujib, and Jerash Enjoyed an incredible 2 week roadtrip to Australia's Uluru Rented a car for a month and drove all over New Zealand's photogenic south island Extensively traveled throughout all areas of Japan **Always have something to look forward to!! :-)

I feel it's extremely important to be humble and patient when traveling. Many westerners can only speak English. If you travel to a foreign country, try to teach yourself at least a few useful phrases. *I've been witness one too many times of Westerners becoming impatient because a store clerk doesn't understand their English. **WHEN IN ROME, DO AS THE ROMANS DO....(Learn to speak some Italian!) As a GUEST in someone's house, I'm respectful of rules & expectations. Also, as an independent traveler, I'm very flexible and low-maintenance. So while I DO hope to spend SOME time enjoying conversation with my host, I'm very careful to not be a burden in any way!

Though I am 54, in "my" mind, I'm still a very young and active 35 year old! ;-) I can share lots of life experiences - about Japan and other countries! Travel is one of my passions in life, and when I'm unable to go anywhere, the next best thing is hearing about other people's adventures by hosting them!! I can share lots of tips and give guidance towards improving your photography. As an English instructor for the past 23 years, I can help you improve your English.

My hobbies include: Traveling and learning about different cultures Meeting people and making new friends Photography - landscape, street, portraits, MACRO/light reflection art photography ( @elusiveilusionz ) Playing the piano and songwriting Exploring museums and art museums Teaching English