I'm an English teacher living in Quito, Ecuador. I became a certified ESL teacher as a way of traveling but fell in love with teaching in the end. I originally planned to stay in Quito for a month and a half and now after a year and a half here, my dog and I are going to travel through South America.

I like to travel slow because I value meeting people over seeing places/landmarks. I'm not very good at cooking but I'm quite easy to talk to, so I we'll most likely have a good time.

Things that stand out about me are that I love dogs, I'm a hardcore hula hooper, and I sing constantly even though I'm not all that good at it.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I travel to meet people, not to see places. I want to couchsurf so I can meet people living in the area. To me, staying with a nice host, enjoying their company, and having a good time is way more valuable than seeing Machu Pichu.

I'm also with my dog so I think it would be easier for us to find people on couchsurfing who are nice enough to take us both in.

Interests

I love to hula hoop. I began in 2009 and continue to do it today. It's not like we used to do back in school. It's become something more of a circus act really, and it's incredible.

I'm also quite passionate about dogs and rescuing dogs. I used to train them in the USA but now I just love them.

• dogs
• singing
• cooking
• traveling
• socializing
• teaching

Music, Movies, and Books

I don't know if I can say I have a favorite music but some artists I love are: Gregory Isaacs, Al Green, Ella Fitzgerald, Nahko and Medicine for the People, Old Crow Medicine Show, and Bassnectar just to quickly name a few. This song's quite nice too... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ys-jC-NN00

My favorite movies are by far The Lord of the Rings trilogy. They're just so damn epic!

As far as books go, I think my favorite would be 100 years of solitude although I read it in English so I'm sure I missed out on a bit.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I rescued Jack and rehabilitated him! He's my dog. I remember I had been thinking that I had the resources to rescue a dog and I just needed to do it. I chose Jack off the street when there were about 7 other dogs around.

He looked horrible. He was covered in cuts, he had 3 broken teeth, and a broken toe. The veterinarian guesses from his cuts that he was used to train fighting dogs to attack. The first day he was with me, he cried all day. He was afraid of everything and seemed really depressed during the first month.

He's now been with me for about 5 months and I can't believe the 180° change I've seen in him. He loves everyone, he always wants to play, and if he's up, his tail is moving!

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach English and also how to hula hoop.

I love learning and I'd love to have a go at anything anyone would like to teach me.

I'm not a very good cook but I've wanted to get better for quite sometime now. Any host will have their dishes done by me but if they teach me to cook, I'll do them twice as fast.

Jack (my dog) can share lots of love while I can share stories and am also an excellent listener.

What I Can Share with Hosts

As I said above, I think Jack (my dog) and I make for great company. I can also teach English, share my knowledge on hula hooping and maybe even invite you out to eat!

I can also lend you an ear if you feel like talking.

Countries I’ve Visited

Costa Rica, Ecuador, Greece, Guatemala, Ireland

Countries I’ve Lived In

Ecuador