CURRENT MISSION

It is my dream to travel to the Philippines and frolic in the sea. Meet locals and learn what they know.

ABOUT ME

I'm probably the oldest guy on this site! I'm not doing this to save money, although I am generally a frugal person. Rather, I'm on this site to get out of the tourist trap. When I go to a new place, I'm not interested in 'spas' and fancy restaurants and guady, pretentious hotels. And in fact, I've already seen just about all the monuments, churches, museums that I handle. (Been to Italy twice and I'm saturated.) Sure, I respect the art and culture of a place, but I believe that monuments were made for rich men's egos, and I'm not interested in what the rich and powerful of the past thought of themselves. I'm interested in the stories of the humble people who have found a way to survive under the thumb of authoritarian cultures, invasions, famines, war, etc. etc. Aren't these the people who deserve respect and that can teach me things?

PHILOSOPHY

Here's a quote from Coin Barks, translator of Rumi:

"Rumi was out walking in Damascus, looking for Shams (his friend) and then he realized that he didn't need to look; he was the Friendship. Then there's no one missing, no separation-and suddenly, no more country music, either! --'oh she left me. Oh, I left him. Oh, she left me again. Oh, she came back!--"

Pourquoi je suis sur Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I just joined. Right now I'm looking to travel to the Philippines for a vacation and to write. I'm looking for that perfect beach experience, where I leisurely read a 'classic' in the hammock, sip on a cool drink, and periodically plunge in the sea to cool off. Then back for more reading (and writing) all the while pleasantly anticipating a good, healthy meal in the evening.

Sure, I won't find this on someone's couch, but here's the idea. When I first arrive at a place (in the city) I like to learn how the regular people of that place go about their day to day lives. I'm interested in the most prosaic of details. Why? I'm a writer. I don't write about rich people who can't manage to live without servants, drivers, bodyguards, maids, and gardeners. I write about 'humble' people. Here's a secret, we are far more interesting. Yes, I have years of experience living among the wealthy (as one of their support staff) and I can tell you most can't tell the difference between chalk and cheese.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have yet to try it. Very interested.

Centres d'intérêt

Writing. Linguistics. Yoga (and the wisdom texts of India) Qigong (Chinese Yoga) Japanese style Massage, Thai Massage.

• arts
• culture
• writing
• spas
• cheese
• yoga
• walking
• drinking
• reading
• traveling
• music
• country music
• languages
• beaches

Morceaux de musique, films et livres

Moveis:Lawrence of Arabia, The Seven Samuria, Dersu Usala,

Music: Zap Mama, almost anything Middle Eastern.

Books: Too numerous to mention. Love non-fiction also.

Enseignez, apprenez, partagez

I want to learn some basic Cebuano phrases so that I can make a fool of myself when I'm in Cebu and have some fun! Someday would love to learn basic Russian, and get to an intermediate level with Italian. Would also love to know the 1,000 most important terms of Sanskrit that have to do with Yoga and Philosophy- their authentic pronunciation and deeper meanings.

I can teach you Qigong, Pranayama, Shiatsu and Thai Massage. Gentle Couple's Yoga.

Pays que j'ai visités

Italy, Thailand

Pays dans lesquels j'ai vécu

United States