CURRENT MISSION

Recently relocated to Kigali, Rwanda. Will be here for a few years.

ABOUT ME

Hello. I am a 51 year old man from Ottawa, Canada. I am a high school teacher. I have lived in various countries, including Japan, Ecuador, Scotland, Swaziland, Israel and the Marshall Islands.

I would like to see as much of the world as I can, but in a stay-and-travel sense.

I walked the Camino in September 2023 (the Camino Frances- 790km). I have just completed a year of adventure!

I enjoy a glass of wine with a meal, but I don't drink heavily. I definitely don't smoke. I try to be a role-model for my students.

PHILOSOPHY

I believe that people are generally good, and except for a few bad apples, most of us are just trying to learn a little more about the rest of us.

My personal motto is 十人十色 (ju nin to iro) which translates literally to ten people ten colours. It can mean a lot of things, but for me, it means that we are all living on the same planet and though we may all disagree, we need to figure out a way to co-exist. There is strength in diversity.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I am a very easy person to get along with, and I am very low maintenance.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Have been couchsurfing for years long before it was official- just meeting people along the way who have invited me in to get out of the rain...
or have invited me to camp in their backyards.

Interests

Traveling, eating (good, cheap food), reading, talking about the world and nothing at all, reading the newspaper, watching movies, singing, running, walking endlessly...

I lived in Japan for 5 years and I fell in love with onsens (hot-springs), especially in the middle of winter with snow falling all around! I haven't been back in a while and I miss it!

• culture
• dining
• cooking
• baking
• running
• walking
• reading
• traveling
• socializing
• hiking
• kayaking
• camping
• social justice
• current events
• international movies
• hitch hiking
• indie films
• art galleries
• learning about the world
• onsens!!

Music, Movies, and Books

I love movies with a purpose. not a big fan of horror or thriller movies, but movies that make you think.
Will read anything, slowly, but I generally avoid science-fiction.
When I am on vacation, I make it a goal to catch up on all the reading that I don't really get done during the year. The heaviest part of my backpack is novels.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I am a people person. I love crowded market-places and meeting locals and just sitting and learning about the culture.
I think seeing Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe was a pretty incredible experience, but so are those moments when you are able to understand someone without any language in common.
Oh, and I think everyone in the world should experience traffic in Dhaka, Bangladesh... it is the craziest ride you will ever take!

What I Can Share with Hosts

Good conversation!

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Belize, Cambodia, Canada, China, Cuba, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Guam, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Lesotho, Malawi, Mexico, Monaco, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nauru, Netherlands, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Portugal, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Viet Nam, Zimbabwe

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, Ecuador, Israel, Japan, Marshall Islands, Rwanda, Swaziland, United Kingdom