Several years ago I retired and my partner and I traveled to Ghana where he worked for Habitat or Humanity and I did volunteer teaching. After one year, he died from complications from malaria. I stayed on and was offered a job that enabled me to continue for several years. Teaching allows me to support many students in several West African countries. However, I am now in Kyiv, Ukraine teaching at the Kyiv International School. When we lived in Syracuse, we often hosted international students and even had a brief stint at opening our house as a bed and breakfast. The school provides me with a single bedroom apartment, but there is a couch that makes into a double bed. I would happily make it available to male travelers who are visiting for a short time in Kyiv.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I enjoy hosting people in my home. Frankly, I had not heard of the site for couch surfing until recently when a friend said that she had met someone from Turkey who was in town and stayed at her apartment. I thought that would be something I could do and so have watched the videos, the caveats, and the benefits of being a part of the group.

Interests

I enjoy traveling. My partner and I in our 20+ years together visited every continent except Antarctica and Asia. We also visited over 30 US states together. On my own, I have visited all the rest except Alaska. To get there one day is on my bucket list.

• writing
• photography
• breakfast
• walking
• reading
• traveling
• music
• classical music
• history
• volunteering
• travel
• massage both giving and receiving

Music, Movies, and Books

Easy listening and classical music. My favorite composer is Vivaldi. It is great to be in a place where there will be four seasons. After 15 years in and out of Africa, I look forward to a real spring. I watch a lot of movies on the computer as I can get Netflix through Hola with my subscription in the states. My Kindle is great for allowing me to be constantly reading, but I have a diverse taste. I do not like horror or Sci-Fi, but most other genres are fine. Well, ok, no Harliquin type romances. In books and movies I think I am most attracted to historical fiction.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Well, when I turned 76 and had a great party with between 30 and 40 guests from the school and the community. It was catered so there was little for me to do. One of the teachers had done that sort of thing in the past and she volunteered. It was amazing. You can see the pictures on Facebook under my name. I have crossed the Andes and visited Machu Pichu. That was pretty amazing also. Currently I support about 15 present and former students in Africa. It keeps me poor, but by working, I have enough to share.

Teach, Learn, Share

I said I was learning Russian which means I do have the Rosetta Stone program. So far, it is on a shelf. Ukrainian and Russian are common languages here, but English is not. I've done my best to learn other languages, but find I just never had the gene for that.

What I Can Share with Hosts

A good, safe, quiet place for guests who interested in sharing with other people and learning from them.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Canada, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Peru, Poland, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Wales

Countries I’ve Lived In

Ghana, Liberia, Netherlands, Togo, United States