So, I borrowed this first bit in large part from my first ever hosts who were wonderful and who definitely know what they're doing. As they say, this might seem strict, but otherwise we're not assholes.

Before you go on!

Please don't request to stay with us without a properly written profile and request showing you know who we are.

Our work schedules are all over the place so we'll only be able to host at specific times.
Requests are best sent 1-2 weeks in advance.

My partner and I have some early morning start times, so we aren't looking for people just looking to party. That doesn't mean 'no fun,' but being respectful is key.

Please have some info in your profile. We want to know you and socialize with you--if you don't share your interests with us how we will know if we'll get along?

We won't host people with copy and pasted requests. Make the effort to see who we are and whether you want to know us or not.

So, if you're still reading...

I live in Victoria, BC with my partner Rachel. I have a dumb day job, but try to do as much writing on the side as I can. Rachel is a pastry chef/general manager at an organic bakery here in Vic. We both love cooking, eating and drinking, as well as exploring Vancouver Island in whatever way we can.

We're interested in books, writing, food, fermentation, history, politics, biking, hiking etc., and love to talk at length about any of these things.

We have a cat named Otto and young dog (born Dec. 2017) named Gail. Gail is extremely friendly and playful (most of our friends like her better than they like us I'm pretty sure), but if you aren't comfortable with dogs or have allergies this probably isn't the place for you.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

To meet people! We've traveled enough to know the only way to really touch a place is to meet and learn from the people who live there.

Last year I spent two months couch surfing across parts of Eastern and Central Europe and met some incredibly generous and kind people and now we're looking to give some of that hospitality back.

Interests

• cats
• books
• poetry
• cooking
• movies
• hiking
• camping
• sailing
• food
• biking
• street food
• outdoors
• high fives
• brewing
• fermentation
• punk rock

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: I love The Clash, The Minutemen, Pere Ubu.

Films: Wim Wenders, Jim Jarmsuch, John Huston, Francis Ford Coppola, Werner Herzog, David Lynch.

Books: Alice Munro, John Steinbeck, Lawrence Durrell, Ernest Hemingway, Carson McCullers, JG Ballard, John Berryman, Alden Nowlan, Gerald Murnane.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Sunrise hike to the top of Kawah Ijen and then down into its crater to see the famous blue flame.

Drinking tuak (palm wine) while lounging by a lake formed from the crater of a volcano that blew 75, 000 years ago and almost wiped out humanity.

I guess that's two. Oh well.

Teach, Learn, Share

We love to talk food and fermentation. Let's swap recipes and trade secrets. Also, although we've only been living on VI for the past three years, we've done our best to accrue the knowledge needed to explore it effectively and we'd love to pass some of that on.

I've recently started to get into jazz, but have no really knowledge on the subject--anyone out there that can help?

What I Can Share with Hosts

We'll cook you dinner and maybe we'll share a few drinks and a few stories.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Belgium, Cambodia, Canada, Cook Islands, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia, Morocco, Netherlands, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Viet Nam, Wales

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, Canada, Denmark, South Korea