Where do I begin? What do I say? To begin with, I'm 59 years young. I say that, because I believe age is just a number, and more a state of mind than anything else. I could literally write a book about myself. I've actually had people tell me that I should. I won't do that here. I think I just heard a big, collective sigh of relief! I'm divorced, and have been for many, many years. I have a very lovely grown daughter. I've had lots of different pets throughout my life, including many dogs and cats, but I don't currently have any pets. I'd like to, but it would be impractical because I've been living on and traveling between two different continents for the last five years. I spend about nine months of the year living in southern mainland China, and the other three or so months living in the U.S. When I travel between China and the U.S. I often try to use it as an opportunity to stop in, see, explore, and experience someplace new that's in between, along the way. Since China and the U.S. are on opposite sides of the globe, it gives me the whole wide world to explore! I've probably shared just enough here, that the wheels might be turning now. Hopefully that's a good thing. Between this introduction, and the rest of the information I've provided here, I'd like to think there'll be plenty of questions for someone to ask me, which will give us a whole lot to talk about.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I've found that, in general most people around the world are very much alike, despite the differences in their cultures, countries, communities, backgrounds, education, socio-economic status, gender, race, ethnicity, age, and generation. We all have things in common. We all have to live our lives, and provide for ourselves and our families. We all want a better life for our progeny and offspring. It's always so satisfying to discover the commonalities one shares with another, in spite of the differences. Life is a bigger, better adventure when you meet new people, and interact with them. When someone opens their arms, their heart, and their home to you, they can go from starting out as a stranger to becoming a lifelong friend. That's ultimately the most precious thing that can be gained from participating in this experience. It might seem to be a somewhat lofty goal, but I think it's well worth the effort. Some of us travel to the beat of a different drummer. It's nice to be able to connect with others who might also be willing to take a chance on doing something a little out of the ordinary, that's not quite "mainstream", so to speak.

Interests

I have a wide range of diverse, eclectic interests. I love shopping because I savor the sweet success of fruitful bargain hunting. Flea markets, wholesale markets, garage sales, yard sales, house sales, tag sales, estate sales, swap meets, thrift shops, antique shops, curiosity shops, bazaars, suqs, you name it, I enjoy them all. It might seem odd, but I don't care much for auctions, however. I have a real passion for food. I will try almost any new food or cuisine at least once. I especially like finding and trying unusual, exotic and rare tropical fruit, and cheeses. I also relish being able to sample the street and local food in new, unfamiliar, and/or exotic locales. I consider it another exciting aspect of the wonderful adventures that can result from having the opportunity to travel. I love to read books, yes, the old fashioned way! I have my own library with several thousand books. It's heavy on the non-fiction, but I also enjoy a good novel too, and like a wide variety of authors. Of course, traveling, especially to new places, is always a welcome treat. I love caves, waterfalls, aquariums and wildlife. I'm really into finding the odd little, sometimes secret places that are often "off the beaten track". I also have an extensive knowledge of and interest in gems, gemstones, jewelry, and watches. I could go on, but some things are better left for actual conversation.

• animals
• culture
• books
• photography
• dancing
• environment
• dining
• italian food
• cooking
• japanese food
• watches
• movies
• reading
• traveling
• music
• jazz
• outdoor activities
• fishing
• swimming
• geography
• history
• tourism
• beaches
• urban exploration
• travel
• food
• nature
• reading books
• knowledge
• outdoors

Music, Movies, and Books

I can usually find something to like about almost all genres of music. Notable exceptions are rap, hip-hop, most opera, and old style, really twangy country/western. I especially enjoy good, instrumental jazz.
As for movies, a movie almost has to be awful or atrocious for me not to endure watching it in it's entirety once I've started viewing it. I enjoy good science fiction, and true stories, as well as mystery, thriller, and whodunit films. In general, I'm usually up for watching a movie, especially if it's one that I haven't already seen.
Books are, and have always been a passion of mine. I'm an avid reader with my own library. I have thousands of books. I like information and knowledge, so I have a lot of reference, and trivia, and non-fiction volumes. I also have an extensive array of medical manuals and psychology texts. I find true crime stories to be fascinating. On the fiction side, I also have a wide variety of authors whose works I read. I prefer actual books when it comes to reading something. I think that's probably a generational thing.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

What's amazing to one person might seem mundane or banal to another. This one's amazing to me, because if I hadn't done it, I wouldn't be writing this right now. I was eating alone once and began choking on my food, some steak. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't call for help because I couldn't speak. I successfully performed the Heimlich Maneuver on myself. I'm here to say from personal experience that it works!

Teach, Learn, Share

I believe we're always learning, whether passively or actively, every day of our lives. We all have more to learn, if we keep our eyes and minds open. Almost all of us also have something we can teach to others. It might be significant, important, fascinating, interesting, or relatively minor, but there's very likely something each of us can teach another. We all share this earth, and it's resources. We can also share some of the experiences that we are fortunate enough to have. We can also share our time, our expertise, our company, our conversation, our hearts, and our homes. By doing so, we can teach each other things that are mutually enriching and beneficial.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Well, how does one answer this without coming across as either uninteresting or perhaps over eager? I can share as much of or as little of myself as my host is comfortable with. If it's conversation, they prefer, I can and will gladly talk about almost anything and everything. I'm an open book. If my host(s) want a dining companion, either in, or out, that's great. I'll even try my hand in their kitchen if they're up for me cooking a meal or some meals while I'm there. We can also try to create some culinary masterpieces together if that sounds like something they'd like to do. I'd love to spend as much or as little time together with my host(s) doing any sightseeing, adventure, shopping, or anything else with them. Perhaps there's something my host has wanted to do, or somewhere they've wanted to go, but haven't been able to, because it's uncomfortable, a little daunting, or out of their comfort zone. Maybe I can be the moral support they've needed to finally accomplish something they've been wanting to for awhile, but just couldn't. One never knows. I'm usually a fairly open minded kind of guy, so almost anything goes. And as it's often been said "When in Rome . . . "

Countries I’ve Visited

Bahrain, Canada, China, Cuba, Djibouti, England, France, Hong Kong, Iceland, Italy, Jamaica, Macao, Malaysia, Netherlands, Puerto Rico, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Virgin Islands, U.S.

Countries I’ve Lived In

China, United States