I'm a student and a teacher. My main areas of focus are politics, philosophy, economics and statistics. I've travelled quite a lot, and lived in Toronto (as well as Vancouver) for several years. I've also spent several years teaching ESL.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I recently met a couple of travellers from France at my favourite cafe here in Toronto. After chatting with them for a couple of hours they let me know that after a few months travelling in Canada they were running low on money. I have a two-bedroom apartment so I offered to let them stay at my place for the last few days they would be here in Toronto until they left for New York. It was a great experience - I had a chance to practice my French for a few days and help out a couple of strangers and show them around Toronto, which is always fun.

They told me about this website and that they'd used it before, so I thought I'd sign up in case it works again. I don't really know how it works, but feel welcome to send me messages directly to ajlsealey@gmail.com as I don't suspect that I'll check in here more frequently than from time to time. As I need to spend a fair amount of time focussing on work, relatively short term (i.e. a handful of days or so) stays are best, though longer term stays might at times also be feasible. I also find it somewhat difficult to plan several weeks ahead, so last minute requests are perfectly welcome (and perhaps even ideal - if I'm not too busy, sure, please stop by for a visit!). My place isn't ideally convenient as it's about 30 minutes from downtown (to be more precise, I'm to the east and the public transit trip planner tells me it takes 25-30 minutes to get to the Spadina-Bloor subway station), but on the plus side you can stay in your own room. My place isn't Versailles by any stretch of the imagination, but it's a place that's pretty easy to feel comfortable in, so if you're a backpacker with an easygoing vibe, it's likely to work for you. Much more Lonely Planet than Condé Nast. It's smoke-free, but you're welcome to use my balcony for this if you'd like? If you feel this might work well for you, please feel welcome to be in touch.

A pro: There's a grocery store located less than 100 feet from my home.

A con: I don't have cable or wifi in my apartment. There are several places nearby that have free wifi access, but I prefer to disconnect once I'm home.

Interests

I'm particularly interested in hosting non-native English speakers. If you happen to speak French, that would be terrific, as it's the only language besides English that I'm even vaguely competent with and I can use all the help I can get. I've also spent time learning German, Spanish, and Korean. But I find the whole fumbling thorough linguistic exchange to be really humbling, and a really good time. I've travelled to many different countries and tried to speak dozens of languages, so no doubt virtually any language could be fun.

I have no idea how 'running' got on to my list of interests. I have a t-shirt that in large letters says: 'I never run with scissors', and the small print below reads: 'those last two words were unnecessary'. That pretty much sums up how much I'm interested in running ...

• running
• traveling
• teaching
• languages

Music, Movies, and Books

Music and concerts: Some softer stuff when I need to be cerebral, heavier when I'm having fun. Favourite concerts include Jane's Addiction, Ministry, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, The Pixies, The Hip, Billy Talent.
Movies: Gasland. Inside Job. The Corporation. Citizen Four. Cinderella Man. Fight Club. Guardians of the Galaxy. The Martian. The Equalizer. The Big Short. Deadpool.
Books: Hegel's Phenomenology. Nietzsche's Zarathrustra. Rousseau's Social Contract. Anything by Orwell or Dickens.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I generally try to avoid invitations to vanity.

Countries I’ve Visited

Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Belize, Cambodia, China, Cuba, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Guatemala, Japan, Laos, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, Mexico, South Korea, United Kingdom