Update as of September 20th: I am currently available to host someone tonight (the 20th) and possibly tomorrow night (the 21st) as well.

Hey everyone! I am pretty introverted, yet I love to have one-on-one conversations with people as I am deeply curious about the depths of human nature. I am also deeply curious about geography, and what's it like to live in various parts of the world.

I like reading books for children and for grown-ups, and writing stories and baking people cookies, and just walking around noticing ordinary things and visiting the grocery store whenever I visit a new country (did you know that in the Netherlands, they have an entire aisle of Queen Wilhelmina peppermints!?). You can read more about me in the "Why I'm on Couchsurfing" answer. If you're ever coming to Vancouver please write to me and let's meet up or go hiking somewhere!

P.S. I am not at all interested in hooking up or irresponsible use of alcohol or drugs. If any of you enjoy hooking up, alcohol or drugs, I will not judge you, I just don't want to do these things myself. Thank you for your understanding!

Por qué estoy en Couchsurfing

Lots of reasons!

First, one of my many potential career aspirations is to become a (suspense . . .) HISTORICAL WALKING TOUR GUIDE!! Some history can come across as rather boring, but after taking an awful lot of history courses I have realized that history is basically a story, and it's only boring because textbooks make it sound boring, and I aspire to bring history to life!

Then I realized it would be helpful to have some experience working with tourists, since historical walking tours are generally part of the tourism industry! And hence, I have arrived here on Couch Surfing!

I always feel rather honored when people come from international destinations to my faraway city of Vancouver, which isn't that close to other places, and it bugs me when tourists get ripped off by that Capilano suspension bridge you have to pay for, which there's another suspension bridge in Lynn Canyon Park that is FREE! I want tourists to have a terrific time when you come to Vancouver, and thus I am happy to show you around or give useful travel advice such as:

- how to use the public transit system, and where to get a Compass Card to save money on bus fare.
- the best Gulf Islands to visit on a day trip from Vancouver without a car
- places to go camping and where to rent/ borrow camping stuff
- interesting neighborhoods to explore in Vancouver
- day trips from Vancouver that you can get to on public transit.
- how to take the coach bus to Whistler in one day
- advice for catching the BC ferries
- ways to save money in Vancouver

I can also answer some more unconventional questions to satisfy your curiosity, if you've ever been wondering anything like:

- how come it rains all the time but Vancouver people don't carry umbrellas everywhere?
- Can everyone in Vancouver speak French?
- What's it like living in the loneliest city in the world?
- Where's a great place to get a cinnamon bun?

I am also planning to visit various countries in Europe one day, and part of my goal there is to take the time to notice that even in our anxious world, there are moments of ordinary beauty hiding everywhere.

Intereses

• writing
• cooking
• baking
• reading
• drawing
• hiking
• swimming
• history
• history of art
• children's books
• writing fiction
• illustrating
• baking cookies

Música, películas y libros

Children's books:

"Because of Winn-Dixie" and "Raymie Nightingale" by Kate DiCamillo
"Everything Sad is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri
"The Snark-out Boys and the Avocado of Death" by Daniel Pinkwater
"The Twits" and "The BFG" and "George's Marvellous Medicine" by Roald Dahl
"Walk Two Moons" by Sharon Creech
"The Watsons Go to Birmingham, 1963" by Christopher Paul Curtis
"The Trolls" and "The Canning Season" by Polly Horvath
"The Magician's Nephew" by C.S. Lewis
"The Little Prince" by Antione De Saint-Exupery

Books for Adults:

"Rembrandt is in the Wind: Learning to Love Art Through the Eyes of Faith" by Russ Ramsey
"Don Quixote" (this book is actually really funny!
"Heaven" by Randy Alcorn
"At Home in the World" a travel memoir by Tsh Oxenreider
Books for everyone:

The Book of John (from the Bible)
The Book of Jonah (from the Bible, the last chapter is beautiful!)
The Book of Esther (from the Bible)
"The Princess Bride" by William Goldman (the writing is even funnier than the movie).

Algo increíble que he hecho

I've made a baked Alaska? Does that count as amazing?

Enseña, aprende, comparte

I don't know exactly what I am supposed to write here. I am happy to teach and share stuff and learn from you when we meet in real life, or just ask me anything!

Qué puedo ofrecer a los anfitriones

I would be happy to bake you some Nanaimo bars! They are a delicious layered bar cookie recipe invented in the city of Nanaimo, on Vancouver Island.

I also like to draw little spot illustrations and I could illustrate a picture of you or your pet cat or almost anything else!

I could also answer ANY awkward question about Canadians / life in Vancouver that you've been curious about!

Países que he visitado

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, England, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Switzerland, United States

Países en los que he vivido

Canada