I went into early retirement on December 31, 2014. At times people have called me a Vagabond Priest, and I rather like that description. I now call myself the Peripatetic Pastor. ( new word I just learned). My dream has always been to spend as much of my life as possible traveling. It's my passion. I enjoy meeting people, having discussions and making friends with people of all ages, lifestyles, and beliefs. Gay friendly, straight friendly, generally pretty friendly. I am generous, open minded and non judgmental of most everyone I meet. Life is too short to be building walls separating people.
My basic message is that God loves you and we are to love one another. The Christian faith (nor any other religion or philosophy) should oppress, repress, suppress or generally depress people.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Most of the time I travel alone. Usually I will stay in hostels which provides a social outlet. I make many friends of all ages in the hostels. But there I generally only meet fellow travelers. With couch surfing I expect to be able to meet local people, make friends and learn about their lives and cultures. In short, I am not looking for a free room. I'm hoping for relationships and forming many life long friendships.

Interests

I enjoy volunteer work such as with teaching English. My main interests reflect what I have already mentioned, - love of travel and love of people.
I do enjoy reading, watching movies, and tend to spend a lot of time now on the internet.

• dogs
• books
• movies
• reading
• traveling
• volunteer work
• socializing
• swimming
• languages
• religion
• volunteering
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

I don't listen to a lot of music, it's not a passion, but I do enjoy the music of the 50s and 60s such as Dean Martin and Elvis. I also enjoy southern Gospel music. A couple of more modern singers I like are Mika and Rufas Wainwright. My favorite movie of all time is The Godfather. Other favorites include Casablanca, the James Bond series and most action/mystery/suspense shows. The books I enjoy are similar. My favorite book is probably The Count of Monte Cristo. Also among my favorites are the Nero Wolfe mysteries, Robert Ludlum books, Agatha Christie, John Grisham, etc.
I enjoy a lot of television shows. Right now my favorites are Sherlock, The Walking Dead, and Downton Abbey.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I spent four years in Romania volunteering with the church and teaching English.
After retirement I spent two months at a nudist/clothing optional beach and got a great tan:) - now faded.
One of the most beautiful sights I have seen was while sitting on rocks with my wolf-dog, reading a book off the coast of British Columbia, Canada. There were six whales swimming below me and a number of eagles in the sky above.
Another awesome moment was waking up at three in the morning, going out on the balcony and watching the lava flowing from Mt. Etna in Sicily.
Learned to ride a motorbike on the streets of Ho Chi Minh City. C razy

Teach, Learn, Share

Teach English, learn other cultures and languages, and share in spiritual discussions from a Christian perspective and listening attentively to other perspectives. As I continue my travels I would hope to learn some skill that I can do with my hands, such as massage, cooking, pottery, woodworking, etc.
In Thailand I did take a massage course and a cooking class and in Cambodia I took a pottery class.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Primarily friendship and, if needed, a hug and a listening ear.
Massage!

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Laos, Mexico, Moldova, Morocco, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Philippines, Poland, Singapore, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, Laos, Romania, United States, Viet Nam