WE HOPE AND PRAY THAT THE WAR, AND THE HUMAN SUFFERING, WILL END SOON, AND THAT THE RIGHTS AND DIGNITY OF ALL PEOPLES IN THE REGION WILL BE RESPECTED.

We hope that you don't see us as representing our government.
إن شاء الله... שלום

Travel plans for 2026:
- Classical art history trip to Umbria and Toscana in February - early March
- "Me-only" trip to visit friends in Ireland - April
- Japan (!) - Fall

After being hosted by some amazing people the past few years, especially on our recent trips, we really feel the need to "give back", and would love to host as much as possible . We love hosting, though being a bit off the tourist.map, we don't get a ton of requests. I promise an quick answer to any request, even a "no" or "maybe".

We love taking our guests on day-trips (any direction from Hararit offers great options) around the Galilee, especially now that we're retired, and have time. It's good for us, as it gives us the motivation to get out of the house!

We both are now retired, and trying to get in as much world exploration as we can, while we can. The idea is to spend about a third of the year on the road, and the rest of the time watching the garden and our grandchildren grow.

Tami was diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2019, two weeks before we were to leave for 4½ months in India. The operation was successfull, all the tests have been negative, and we were able to resume our travels (along with a short covid break).

We combine backpacking trips with camping trips, depending on the country. We've camped in Iceland, Namibia, Faroe Islands, USA, and much of Europe.

On our travel radar: Japan, South America, Canadian Rockies, and, if the political situation in the region changes, Saudi Arabia and Oman.

We usually travel together, though I sometimes do a "me-only" trip centered on what I call "urban trekking", for which she has less of a passion

We also love camping with our dogs in the amazing Negev and Arava desert.

I was born in Philadelphia USA, 1952, Jewish lower middle class liberal / socialist / secular family, went to Central High School (228 to anyone who knows what that means) in the city, and Penn State University for a degree in Russian Literature. I came to Israel in 1973 as a kibbutz volunteer, and ended up staying (don't ask why). On the way back to the US to get my stuff, I met Tami in Rome, in the Sistine Chapel, on August 4th, 1975. I returned to Israel, got in touch, and we were engaged within a few days.

I did an MA in Linguistics at Hebrew University but worked at crap jobs until I reached my TURNING 40 CRISIS, and decided I wanted to teach Film History (which I never actually studied). I taught the subject in high schools and colleges, until I retired in 2019.. I loved teaching, and was quite a natural at it. Until the end I enjoyed going into class, and the challenges involved in doing it right. However, I lost all my strength and patience in dealing with the system, which seems to always work to demand mediocracy.

Tami (short for Tamar), nee Peretz, was born in 1951, to the "Sephardic Nobility" of Jerusalem, and studied art in Tel Aviv. She worked as an art therapist in special education, before retiring. We met in 1975, in the Sistine Chapel (!), and have
been together since 1976, have three grown children, and five grandchildren. She is an artist, and the creative one of us, with her art, ceramics, jewelry making, etc. Not to mention cooking!

I have a passion for so many different things, I can only provide a partial list: cinema (obviously), music (all kinds), art, literature, sports (playing and watching), architecture, philosophy, gardening, beer, etc.

I'm a Jewish Atheist, though I'll be respectful of my guests who might have their own beliefs.

As for philosophy, to quote the great philosopher Groucho Marx: "Sometimes you have to take the bull by the tail, and face the truth". (I've recently learned it's W. C. Fields.)

Please note that Hararit is a small village in the Galilee. Even though our profile comes up on searches for Haifa, Akko, and Nazareth, we're not any of those, even though transportation to and from all of them is possible. However, sending a request "I'm going to be in Haifa.....", etc., means you didn't read the profile.

I love photography, and you can see some of my better travel pictures on Instagram, at freddylubin1952.

"The world is not my home, I'm just a-passin' through."

我为什么加入 Couchsurfing

Truth be told, I joined CS at first in order to find a place to stay in Reykjavik in 2015). But as we began to get requests, and after visiting our wonderful hosts in Iceland, the "coin dropped" as they say, and I understood what it's about. So Tami and I decided to become active hosts as well. WE both love meeting people when we travel, and getting to think a bit outside the usual box needed for day-to-day existence. And I love having people visit our out-of-the-way village, and get to show them, and allow them to experience what we have here.

I enjoy having friends on Couchsurfing, even if it's someone I haven't met personally. I'll accept friend requests, but I don't appreciate getting them with no message at all. I'll always just ignore them. It means you haven't read my profile.

CURRENT MISSION: Keep on keepin' on:

"Nobody living can ever stop me,
As I go walking that freedom highway;
Nobody living can ever make me turn back
This land was made for you and me." (Woody Guthrie)

"Don't lend your hand,
To raise no flag,
Atop no ship of fools" (Garcia, Hunter)

"Do you know, we could go,
we are free;
Any place we could think of,
we could be." (Paul Kantner, David Crosby)

"Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light." (Dylan Thomas)

兴趣

Some interests come and go, but there's always cinema, literature, beer (REAL beer and ale), sports, philosophy, music, travelling, gardening, teaching (now retired, but I loved doing it), humor, conversation, literature, poetry, .... and life in general. And, fighting the good fight, thouth I'm becoming a bit more dispondent in old age. But, life, whatever you do, can always be fascinating:

"Once in a while you get shown the light
In the strangest of places if you look at it right." (Robert Hunter)

I love photography (way back I'd develop film myself), and you can see my travel photos on Instagram at freddylubin1952.

• dogs
• arts
• literature
• poetry
• architecture
• dining
• running
• gardening
• traveling
• socializing
• music
• sports
• teaching
• history
• philosophy
• science
• travel
• cinema
• nature
• good food
• craft beer
• marx brothers
• nothing
• urban trekking
• the grateful dead
• photogrphy
• 42
• flying spaghetti monster
• life the universe and everything
• staying alive
• things i can't mention
• monk and 'trane

音乐、电影和书籍

So much, I can't even start to list. I love all kinds of film, from Classic Hollywood, to Bergman. I could list a thousand favorite films. Same with music. I grew up in the '60s, with rhythm and blues, and rock-n-roll, but love jazz, classical, everything. Special call-out to Jimi, Duke, Monk, 'Trane, and the Dead. And Charles Ives.

As for books, I studied Russian literature, which I loved (Gogol, Zamyatin, early Dostoyevski, Bunin, etc.), but read now mostly non-fiction.

Among my favorite poets are Blake, Whitman, Ginsberg, and Robert Hunter.

我做过的一件不可思议的事情

Lived 7+ decades on high energy level. and don't want to stop.

Anything amazing? Seeing my children born, maybe. Or looking at the stars at night.

US States I've visited: Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, West Virginia, Missouri, Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, Kentucky

教，学，和分享

I love talking about ANYTHING, love the give and take of discussion, which is one of the reasons I love traveling.

我可以与沙发主分享些什么

WITH GUESTS: Great food and drink, and conversation. As well as my knowledge of travel possibilities in our region. I'm not promising, but when possible, I love taking guests on a drive around our part of the Galilee

WITH HOSTS: We enjoy sharing our stories and passion for travel. And hopefully, friendship.

我游览过的国家

Afghanistan, Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, England, Estonia, Ethiopia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Myanmar, Namibia, Netherlands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Norway, Palestine, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russian Federation, San Marino, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uzbekistan, Vatican City State, Viet Nam, Zambia, Zimbabwe

我居住过的国家

Israel, United States