Hello, this account is really about the three of us: Pierre, Irene and Bettina.

I'm Pierre - It might sound corny but I see myself first and foremost as a citizen of the world and I am on a mission to discover what lies hidden in my backyard. To pay the bills, I work for the metro service in Montreal Canada. I taught English to adults for nearly 12 years. I did that because I am interested in learning languages myself and because it allowed me to travel around the world and live in many different countries.

My wife's name is Irene - that's the western name she goes by. She is a bit of a romantic at heart. Previously, she had chosen to go by Heidi but that didn't last! So, she is Chinese, born and raised in Nanjing - ex-capital of China, 3 hrs from Shanghai and 7-8 million souls strong. She is a travel agent and what drives her, as well as me - is traveling on extended journeys, discovering more about the beauty of the world we live in. We all live in Montreal with our daughter Bettina, who just turned 5, here in Sri Lanka.
Bettina is a dynamic, curious child who warms up very quickly to other people. She is shy for the first 5 minutes and then she starts with her questions. She loves taking care of younger children, playing games, etc. She is very extroverted. She started traveling with us early on - she was 10 months old when we left on our first 6 month long trip. She learned to walk on a boat on the Mekong and we celabrated her first birthday on the royal palace grounds in Bangkok. She first swam in the Indian Ocean and first rode a motorbike in Bali.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Because I find I am missing out on getting more personal connections with the natives, as it were. It used to be I traveled by living abroad for 2-5 years at a time. Now, the dynamic has changed and although we do get personally acquainted with interesting people in the various guesthouses we stay at, this contact is with other tourists. And that doesn't satisfy my curiosity for the places I visit and regarding the people who live there. Staying in guesthouses and eating out are also commercial interactions which can be pretty superficial and inauthentic.

Our current trip: We are on a 6 month long trip in South Asia. We left Montreal about 2 months ago. We started our trip in Myanmar, which we absolutely adored. As I am writing this, we are in Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka. Next we will be going to India and then Nepal in April.

On the train a few days ago, I chatted with a German lady who couchsurfs all the time. She hosts tons of people too. She was very friendly, open minded and just the kind of person I would generally liketo spend more time getting to know. So, of course I knew couchsurfing existed before but she really got me thinking that it might be something that would add the missing ingredient in our present trip.

Interests

Obviously traveling, cooking, reading (used to be mostly fiction but now it's a bit of a mixed bag), the usual: movies and various tv series (you could say I am somewhat choosy on both counts)

• writing
• beauty
• cooking
• boating
• movies
• reading
• tv
• traveling
• eating out
• languages

Teach, Learn, Share

Off the top of my head, I can teach you to make a few authentic italan dishes: arrabiata sauce, carbonara, amatriciana, con rapini; risotto con funghi, spinaci or sausage; thai fried rice; other stuff I can' t think of now.

I'd like to learn how you fit in the world you live in; learn your philosophy of life.

I'd like to share good times and authentic moments - find out what makes up the middle ground our encounter will create, which never before existed.

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, Belize, Cambodia, Canada, China, Czech Republic, England, France, Germany, Guatemala, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Laos, Malaysia, Mexico, Myanmar, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sri Lanka, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, Wales

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, France, Italy, Mexico, Poland