Hi! I'm Dan! I'm legally blind and I travel with low vision. I'm from Canada and love learning about new places and new languages, and how people with disabilities live and work around the world.

Here's some information about my current project, at YouTube.com/threepointsofcontact !

Three Points of Contact wants to show the world what it's like to travel with a disability. We want to give an honest view of it's possibilities and challenges. On top of this, we are also very passionate about inspiring any wannabe travellers (disabled or not) to just get out there.

ABOUT US

threepointsofcontact.ca is a blog with a corresponding youtube channel (youtube.com/threepointsofcontact) created by Dan Barra-Berger. We have recently started a new youtube series called Travelling Blind. There are now 2 of us - Dan and Tyler - because as Dan quickly found out, it is very hard to film for the channel and hold a cane at the same time. Check our individual profiles below...

Dan: I'm travelling indefinitely around Europe and maybe beyond. I have trouble with seeing things at a distance, but I've got a few devices that let me counteract the disability. I'm writing about travelling with a disability, and so far I've been given a much better opinion of goodness inherent in people. Sure, there's still pricks, as is the way, but the majority of people seem to be pretty alright.

I love to explore, have adventures, and get into places I'm not supposed to be. Kind of like a raccoon, except I won't eat your trash.

Well, depends on the trash.

I love meeting locals and finding out about where I am from someone who knows. I hate canned tours that are basically tourist-pandering fusterclucks. I'm not a tourist, I'm a traveller.

I'm good for a pint and a laugh, enjoy a night at the pub with good conversation and music. I'm not into a club scene, really...imagine having low vision, surrounded by darkness and flashing lights, and WUB WUB WUB WUB KSHHHHH is taking over your ears. Like somone's trying fax a cat. Forget it. I can't be bothered.

I love comedy and making people laugh. I get bored by serious people very quickly...I've had enough time with people with sticks firmly up their backsides to want to deal with them anymore.

I also like to make sandwiches. I'll make you a sandwich. I'm really good at it.

PHILOSOPHY

The heavy version: "There is neither happiness nor misery in the world; there is only the comparison of one state with another, nothing more. He who has felt the deepest grief is best able to experience supreme happiness. We must have felt what it is to die, Morrel, that we may appreciate the enjoyments of living." count of Monte Cristo/Edmund Dantes, The Count of Monte Cristo

Light answer: "When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back! Get mad! I don't want your damn lemons, what am I supposed to do with these? Demand to see life's manager! Make life rue the day it thought it could give Cave Johnson lemons! Do you know who I am? I'm the man who's gonna burn your house down! With the lemons! I'm gonna get my engineers to invent a combustible lemon that burns your house down!" ― Cave Johnson, Portal 2.

Basically, life has been kind of crap for the first half of this year, so I'm trying to change that. Be good to others and hope for the same.

Tyler: Dan asked me to join him on this next trip to start the series Travelling Blind. I am a cameraman and co-host on the youtube channel. Check out my own couchsurfing profile: https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/tyler_fitz

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

How do I participate? I guess by contacting people and sleeping on their couch. That's the way, isn't it?

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

You know what? I haven't had any yet. I mean, I've slept on couches before, and in bathtubs...and once, under a desk. I almost had a priner fall on me.

Interests

Dan: Anything I'm interested in? Really? Fine.

Sandwiches. Travel. Music. Conversation with intelligent people. Theatre. Adventures. Having a pint or four. Local beer. Exploring. A bit of hiking. Climbing things. Running away from bees. Making people laugh. Writing. Sitting on a big fat leather couch having a coffee while watching British TV. Video games (that's right, the blind guy will school you in Smash Brothers or Mario Kart. Not so much in Halo, but I'll get a lucky kill via Mongooose, and I will gloat.) I'll beat you at Scrabble, and I'll gloat then, too. But I'll pout when you beat me at Clue. I like going to the pubs at night. Karaoke is a not-too-secret shame.

Tyler: Yeah.... what he said! Except that I don't really drink and I'm even better at Super Smash Bros.

• cats
• writing
• beer
• coffee
• running
• drinking
• clubbing
• pub crawls
• video games
• tv
• traveling
• blogging
• music
• karaoke
• hiking
• rock climbing
• tours

Music, Movies, and Books

Dan: Broad question. I like a huge range of music. I guess it's easier to list what I don't like. Pop, dubstep, electronic/house/industrial/noise/trance/whatever the kids call it all now. I'm not really into hiphop beyond stuff from the early nineties, with a few exceptions. I tend to like more acoustic bands, stuff you'd hear in a pub, I guess. I appreciate really great guitar work. I dig the blues, rock, folk, and some heavier stuff, too. Also jazz and songs from musicals (theatre or movies). Like I said, broad range.

Movies? TV? British comedies and period dramas. Anything set in the Victorian era makes me happy. I love a good comedy, but as long as it's cleverly written and not about fart jokes (though there IS a place in society for that, and I don't trust somoene who doesn't appreciate a good fart joke here and there). I like adventure movies and once in a while I like to listen to the Indiana Jones, Star Wars, or Pirates of the Caribbean themes on my iPod and get all psyched to go for groceries. I get a kick out of musicals since living with someone who got me into them. And my biggest shame is I will gladly watch bad romantic comedies (which I'm aware are poorly-written faff). Love, Actually may be one of my favourite movies.

And books? Damn. The Sherlock Holmes series, Lord of the Rings (et al), anything by Douglas Coupland, the James Bond short stories...Dickens...oh, Alexandre Dumas pretty much changed my life with the Count of Monte Cristo. JD Salinger's collected works. Travel books (in particular Michael Palin's).

I guess I can list video games here. I'm a goddamned rulebreaker. Let's see... Yoshi's Island for the Super Nintendo is the best game ever made. Do not argue this. It is perfect. Nearly there are Portal and Portal 2. ICO and Shadow of the Colossus are almost perfect, too. They're pure art. Same goes for most of the Zelda series. Otherwise, anything with Mario in the title, most of the Halo games, Asssassin's Creed series, they're tops. Also a large portion of the Prince of Persia titles.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Travelled the world with a visual disability seems pretty cool to me.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Humour, stories, pints, anything!

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Bahamas, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Morocco, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Portugal, Scotland, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States, Wales

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada