CURRENT MISSION

Explore Europe, meet awesome people, and learn about local cultures.

ABOUT ME

Cam
I`ve been a hard worker all of my life. Bought my first vehicle at 16 yrs old, moved out of the house at 17 yrs old and joined the Navy at 19 yrs old.

When I was only 20 years old I got married to my ex-wife and learned a lot about relationships (what works and what doesn`t). Since then I have been fortunate enough to have met the most incredible partner of my life, Amara. We have been together since 2004 and will be for as long as we can.

I am also lucky enough to have a very caring family as well as a large circle of incredibly close friends. My closest friends have been friends of mine for more than 10 years.

Amara and I have been attending the Burning Man festival in Black Rock City, NV, USA since 2004 and are grateful for this amazing experience. The Burning Man festival encourages: Personal Responsibility, Creativity and Community.

Since then we have invested lots of effort into our local community where we plan and host events (no commerce, non-profit) as a way to encourage others to contribute. It`s very rewarding.

Last year I went through a body and health transformation after a near death experience. I devoted 7 months to prepare for a Natural Bodybuilding (no drugs, just LOTS of hard work) competition and succeeded in changing myself. More info is on my personal website www.spidercam.ca It was a very powerful experience and taught me that we can do anything if we put out mind to it.

We recently sold almost everything we own in order to travel through Europe. All of our savings, credit and resources are being tapped so that we can explore this beautiful continent and people. So far the trip has been amazing (we`re in Amsterdam as I write this).

Amara
I seem to hear the wind calling me to move and travel every few years. Since I was a child I have thrown out routines and started over in new places (whether that be apartments, neighbourhoods, or towns). I have lived all through BC, mostly along the coast. Since I was in university, however, I have always dreamed of exploring Europe. I have a Bachelor of Arts degree with a focus on European history. I needed to see what I was studying. After a few years of saving up, Cam and I left our lives in Victoria to explore Europe.

It was difficult to leave the circle of friends and family in Canada. Thankfully all of them know how important it is to grow and change. I want to surround myself with people who are open, supportive, caring, and fun. I'm grateful to have such people to send me off in Canada. My mantra over the months leading up to my leaving was 'Release. Release. Release.'

The finer details:
I've been working since I was 14. My parents were determined that I understand how I could support myself at an early age. A simple concept that seems to be lost on many people, I think.

I moved out of my parent's place at 16 to go to University. During this time I got married and dropped out of school. It took many years of self-discovery and confidence building for me to leave my husband and rediscover my love of learning. I completed my university degree and met Cam shortly thereafter. Positive thinking and actions will open many new doors and will provide you with the ability to see and walk through those doors.

Since then I have continued my quest for knowledge and focused it on more practical uses. I'm currently progressing through a leadership development program. What does this mean practically? I will be a leader both in my personal life and in my professional life. Specifically, I'll have the tools to put the right people in my life and create a cooperative growing environment. I think this should apply to both personal and professional circles for everyone.

Since I've left my job behind in Canada I have unlimited time to explore how I want to create my future. This means I am currently trying to figure out what I want my life and my life with Cam will look like: what kind of work do I want to do; do I want to be nomadic; how will I create a life for my future children. So many possibilities. My current mantra is 'Present and future.' Cam and I make a perfect match since he is so forward-thinking and challenges traditional approaches whereas I tend try and make the unknown more known.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Participation is vital to making something like CS work. We are not here to simply take from others.

We hope to contribute a positive and fun influence to people we meet.

We attended a CS meetup in Amsterdam. We contributed to that event by meeting everyone there, buying lots of beer for others and generally helping people to feel valued and cared about as we engage them in conversation.

As we learn about local cultures we can pass on lessons learned to other new couch surfers.

Enjoying time with our hosts is important too. The host isn`t someone who simply provides a couch. They may be someone that wants to meet other people and have new experiences. Last night we spent the evening with our host. We bough a one way BBQ, some food from a local grocery store and nice wine. From there we enjoyed an evening in the park casually eating and having great conversation. This is a win-win for the host and surfers.

This is how we contribute.

Oh, and we wash dishes and buy food too :)

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

While we technically only have one actual Couchsurfing experience (which was completely perfect), we've been surfing and hosting friends and family for years. We're still friends with everyone so we'll take that as a good sign.

We tend to show our surfers the city, have a meal together (be it a picnic, a homecooked meal, or at a restaurant), and spend some time getting to know one another better. The reward is in the connection you make not just the fact that you helped someone out. We also do the same when surfing couches.

The reason we've had so little experience is because we bought a campervan in Amsterdam and have been living in that since.

Interests

Body fitness, personal development, yoga, running, socialising, innovation, camping, walking, alternative cultures, history, adrenaline jolts.

• arts
• festivals
• running of the bulls
• environment
• dining
• wine
• beer
• picnic
• bbq
• fitness
• bodybuilding
• yoga
• running
• walking
• traveling
• camping
• surfing
• history

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies:
Inception (wow), The Shining, The Blues Brothers, Dumb and Dumber, Up, The Auteur, The Yes Men (not Yes Men), Darfur...Amara volunteers for the Victoria Film Festival and thoroughly enjoys the more independent and international films.

Music:
Massive Attack, Radiohead, Portishead, Hawksley Workmen, the Aggrolites, Longwalkshortdock, the Crystal Method, Lamb, Michael Jackson, Jackson 5, any Motown, Sheena Easton, DJ Dan, Natalie Imbruglia, Fiona Apple, Sarah McLachlin....

Books:
Have enjoyed books by Etgar Keret, Wayson Choi, Kurt Vonnegut, Irvine Welsh, Chuck Palahniuk, Christopher Isherwood, Jonathan Safran Foer, Stephen King, Douglas Coupland....

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

We did the Encierro (Running of the Bulls) in Pamplona for the San Fermin Festival. Quite possibly the most scary and thrilling thing we have done together. We both really enjoy adrenaline highs and this topped all our adventures.

Countries I’ve Visited

France, Germany, Netherlands, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada

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