I am very chill, kind, compassionate, quiet yet social, respectful, tolerant. Politically I lean Marxist, spiritually I lean Buddhist. I am a former peace activist and current Tax Resistor. I believe that as a human being, it is my responsibility to act in opposition to oppression and injustice.

You must be at least 25 years old to stay at my house. I prefer to host guests who embody the Couchsurfing spirit. I am relatively new to this having joined last year. I have hosted about 20 guests of of various age, gender, and ethnicity, some traveling solo and some with a mate. Almost all have been great guests and wonderful people with whom I have hung out, had great conversations, shared meals, gone to concerts, and learned from. If you want to use my home like a hotel or AirBnB, please go to a hotel or AirBnB. I give my guest(s) my bedroom and I sleep on the couch. Bedroom is on second floor and bathroom is on first floor (which can be an issue for some).

I have a small house built in 1880 in a great neighborhood called Jamaica Plain that is very LGBTQ+ friendly. It is safe and easily accessible to the city center via public transit. There are cafes and restaurants close by as well as lots of green space.

I worked most of my life in the education field, primarily doing research. I am humble and grateful. I practice service to others, including as a foster parent of a 17-year-old Dominican boy, volunteer at a City of Boston program called Transitions that provides housing and recovery services to unhoused people who suffer from substance use disorder, and member of a local peer support recovery center where I facilitate a weekly Buddhist addiction recovery meeting (I am sober). I am training to become a recovery coach.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I love to travel. I want to share my home with and be hosted by like-minded people from whom I can learn.

Interests

Music, art, travel, cooking, gardening, playing basketball and tennis, hiking, bicycling, kayaking, photography.

Music, Movies, and Books

Free jazz, classical (especially 20th and 21st century), Medieval and Renaissance choral music, jam bands aka Grateful Dead, Middle Eastern, Indian classical, traditional West African.

Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen, Coen Brothers, Quentin Tarantino, Pedro Almodovar.

Kurt Vonnegut, Noam Chomsky, Barbara Kingsolver, Tom Wolfe, David Sedaris, Thich Naht Hahn.

I don’t own a TV. I avoid social media like the plague.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Climbed to the top of Mt. Saint Helens not long after it erupted — it was still smoking.

Teach, Learn, Share

I speak some Spanish, want to learn more. I want to learn some Italian should I decide to move to Italy because I do not like what my country has become. I like to teach English to non-native speakers.

I recently started taking lessons to relearn how to play piano, and I hope to teach myself how to play clarinet, accordion, and banjo. I recently took a shibori workshop and a couple sewing classes.

I like to cook and share the experience of breaking bread together while engaging in meaningful conversation. I am an avid gardener.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Wisdom (?) and life experiences. A comfortable and well-adorned home, with a lovely garden (but not in winter). Good food, a comfortable bed, clean towels, running water. And two great cats.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Belgium, Belize, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, Ecuador, Finland, France, Germany, Guadeloupe, Hong Kong, Iceland, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Saint Lucia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkey, Turks and Caicos Islands, United Kingdom, Virgin Islands, British, Virgin Islands, U.S.

Countries I’ve Lived In

England, United States