Hello, آلو, Hola, Namaste, বাংলা, Jambo, હેલો, Olá, 你好, Salut, નમસ્તે, Bonjour, 今日は, Hodi, สวัสดี, Haló, ᎣᏏᏲ, Cześć, Вітаю! 👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋👋

Good vibes, stimulating conversation, and international cuisine are my best friends. I'm independent, driven, and appreciate the simple things in life. I tend to see the best in people, usually trust first, and attempt to not let fear rule my decisions. I value knowledge, self awareness and memories/experiences over tangibles. Music & love are my religions. Music is also my meditation.

CURRENT MISSION

To live in, taste, see, be at, feel, talk to, sing with, dance with as many things/people as possible in my life.

To remove all the hate in this world.
To not love anything that can't love me back.
To create a life that I don't need a vacation from.
To help others, see the world, and constantly evolve.
To have common ground with as many humans on this planet as I possibly can.

✌🏿✌🏻✌🏾✌️✌🏼✌🏽, 💜💙💚💛❤️, and ☀️ to all that visit my page!

Update (07/2022):

Reactivated my account once again.

ABOUT ME

Hey Everyone,

I'm quite multi-faceted in personality and if you were to ask me how I would describe myself in one word, well, you could call me a "Dreamer", but you know, I'm not the only one :P On top of that, I am very well-rounded and will do all that I can to make others have a good time. I'm also rather short at 5'8". Med labs need to research on growth drugs or pills that actually work (not that I've tried it, :S), please.

The Basics:

My name is Jeffrey and I was born and raised Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. I'm male, 38 years of age, father to a beautiful 2-year old daughter & 3.5-month old son, and am interested in pretty much all subjects life has to offer. I like music, movies, games, food, learning new things, oh, and to travel, just to name a few. I also enjoy playing squash, reading and composing music when there's nothing else to do, but since I'm bursting with more imagination and creativity than self-discipline, it can be hard to get any of my writings finished. I enjoy meeting new people, and at times tend to just listen and observe until I get to know them. I'm a happy-go-lucky and vivacious person though yet at times, prefer to remain unobtrusive, so most things I do will either be low on volume or through headphones. I enjoy having conversations which involve some degree of thinking. I don't smoke tobacco or otherwise, and I sometimes drink socially when offered (I don't go out looking for alcohol, that is, and I've never actually gotten drunk - update: I'm allergic to alcohol, it seems). I keep tidy, clean dishes after use, and don't intend to pack much. I'm open-minded and usually upbeat, and I love to crack jokes. Oh yeah, I also have synesthesia (a sensation produced in one modality when a stimulus is applied to another modality, as when the hearing of a certain sound induces the visualization of a certain color - in short, I can see colour). The list goes on, and on, and on...

Hola, soy canadiense. Nací y crecí en Vancouver. Si quieres conocer Vancouver y estoy allí, contactame. Te mostrare con mucho gusto mi ciudad.
En lo personal, no me gusta describirme a mí mismo pero pienso que soy una persona abierta y tolerante (por lo menos eslo que dicen mis amigos). Siempre estoy dispuesto a aprender cosas nuevas. No dudes en contactarme si estamos en la misma onda :-)

Most people think I'm a bit "nuts" but in the non-threatening nuts-but-you-still-barely-fit-into-society kind of way. I'm nuts in that I always have an awesome time and end up in the oddest situations. Really, I'm a very nice person, and by nice, I mean very considerate, accepting, accommodating, fair.

Before I went out to Japan, I played with the best mariachi band from Canada, Mariachi Los Dorados (http://www.losdorados.ca) from Oct. '08 until May '09. Unfortunately, I was not able to reunite with the group back in August/September of 2009 at the annual International Mariachi Festival in Guadalajara, Mexico where they set the world record for most mariachis performing at the same time on one stage. However, I did get the chance to go a year after that in 2010, and showed the world over the duration of the festival that being from an ethnicity that is not entirely western could also share and form cultural bridges through a language that we humans know as music; mariachi music in this case. After a decade with Mariachi Los Dorados, I joined another mariachi band that was formed by two original members of that band. We are called Mariachi Tabasko and you can check us out at https://mariachitabasko.com/.

I get along with nearly everyone, regardless of whether or not if you're 5 or 95, short or long, up or down, well-mannered, passionate, smart, opinionated, open-minded, etc., but no matter what, I assure you we'll have a fun and interesting time together.

Oh, should you ever decide on coming out here, please check out this video before you take off (pardon the language barrier, haha): http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNDQxNDcxOTg4.html / http://www.iqiyi.com/v_19rrk4uctk.html?spm=a2h0k.11417342.soresults.dselectbutton

PHILOSOPHY

"Mind before Action". Or in other words, think before you do.

This one's for CouchSurfing:
“Anticipate charity by preventing poverty; assist the reduced fellow man, either by a gift or a sum of money or by teaching him a trade or by putting him in the way of business so that he may earn an honest livelihood and not be forced to the dreadful alternative of holding out his hand for charity. This is the highest step and summit of charity's golden ladder.�
---Maimonides

My top 25 favourite quotes:

25. If two men agree on everything, you may be sure that one of them is doing the thinking.
-- Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908-1973)

(I have seen this attributed to Truman, as well)

24. It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no God. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.
-- Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)

23. Music is the pleasure that the human soul encoutners from counting without knowing that it is counting.
-- Leibniz

22. To give pleasure to a single heart by a single act is better than a thousand heads bowing in prayer.
-- Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)

21. When I get a little money, I buy books; and if any is left, I buy food and clothes.
-- Desiderius Erasmus (1465-1536)

20. It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows.
-- Epictetus (c.55-c.135)

19. He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would fully suffice.
-- Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

18. As I would not be a slave, so I will not be a master.
-- Abraham Lincoln

17. No man is an Island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friends or of thine own were; any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee.
-- John Donne (1572-1631), Meditation XVII

16. If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all.
-- Noam Chomsky (b. 1928)

15. My Country, right or wrong" is a thing no patriot would think of saying except in a desperate case. It is like saying, "My mother, drunk or sober
-- Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936)

14. This above all, to thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not be false to any man.
-- William Shakespeare

13. The gods are amused when the busy river condemns the idle clouds
-- Rabindranath Tagore

12. Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future.
-- Niels Bohr (1885-1962)

11. Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.
-- William Pitt (1759-1806)

10. Pain shared is lessened, joy shared, increased
-- Spider Robinson

9. The good old days. I was there. Where was they?
-- Moms Mabley 1894-1975

8. All models are wrong but some are useful.
-- George Box

7. The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not "Eureka!" but "That's funny..."
-- Isaac Asimov (1920-1992)

6. That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. That is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation; go and learn.
-- Hillel (link in 5)

5. If I am not for myself, who is for me?
If I am for myself alone, what am I?
If not now, when?
-- Hillel

4. Those who would give up a little freedom to get a little security shall soon have neither
-- Benjamin Franklin

3. If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let each man march to his own rhythm, however measured, or far away
-- H. D. Thoreau

2. There is nothing so horrible in nature as to see a beautiful theory murdered by an ugly gang of facts
-- Benjamin Franklin

and, my favourite...

1. Most men worry about their own bellies, and other people's souls, when we all ought to be worried abut our own souls, and other people's bellies
-- Rabbi Israel Salanter 1810-1883

"Warum reisen wir? Auch dies, damit wir Menschen begegnen, die nicht meinen, daß sie uns kennen ein für allemal; damit wir noch einmal erfahren, was uns in diesem Leben möglich sei - Es ist ohnehin schon wenig genug."

Max Frisch

---

"Why do we travel? We travel to meet people that aren't convinced to know every single attribute of us, we travel to experience one more time the possibilities in our life - anyway there are not too many."

Max Frisch

Here's a bonus one (one I took from Franziska's page :o): "Hoffnung ist die Fähigkeit, im Glauben an ein Morgen das Heute zu gestalten."
-- Peter Amendt

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I try to spread the word out as much as I can, and by doing so, I know my efforts can help generate the propensity and provide others the opportunity of seeking the better of hospitality options... which obviously presents itself here at the CouchSurfing Project, duh!

Excerpted from a friend's profile: The golden rule has always been "Take the back roads when at all possible, and never return the way you came." Now that's my style!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Surfed:

Lethbridge, AB, Canada (Feb. 12-13, 2006)
Calgary, AB, Canada (Feb. 14, 2006)
Culver City and Fullerton, CA, USA (Feb. 17-18, 2006)
Castlegar, BC, Canada (June 19-20, 2006)
Ferry Reach, St. George's, Bermuda (July 25-28, 2006)
Seoul (Gamnang), Korea (Aug. 16-17, 2006)
Osaka (Morinomiya), Japan (Aug. 24-25, 2006)
Kyoto, Japan (Aug. 28, 2006)
Vancouver, BC, Canada (Apr. 28, 2007)
Quebec City, Quebec, Canada (July 10, 2007)
Middleton, PEI, Canada (July 18, 2007)
Halifax, NS, Canada (July 20 and 22, 2007)
Cambridge, MA, USA (July 23-25, 2007)
Prince George, BC, Canada (Jan. 4, 2008)
Minneapolis, MN, USA (Feb. 9, 2008)
Cleveland Heights, OH, USA (Feb. 10, 2008)
Houston, TX, USA (Feb. 19-21, 2008)
Boston (Brookline Village), MA, USA (Feb. 22, 2008)
Chicago (Uptown), IL, USA (Feb. 29-Mar. 2, 2008)
London, England, United Kingdom (May 27-29, 2008)
Carlow, Co. Carlow, Ireland (May 31, 2008)
Waterford Town, Co. Waterford (June 1-3, 2008)
Kilkenny Town, Co. Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland (June 4-5, 2008)
Cuffesgrange, Co. Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland (June 6, 2008)
Saleen Beach, Co. Waterford, Republic of Ireland (June 7, 2008)
Cork City, Co. Cork, Republic of Ireland (June 8-9, 2008)
Ballinacurra, Co. Cork, Republic of Ireland (June 10, 2008)
Killarney, Co. Kerry, Republic of Ireland (June 11-15, 2008)
Dingle Town, Co. Kerry, Republic of Ireland (June 17-18, 2008)
Caherhurley, Co. Clare, Republic of Ireland (June 19, 2008)
Galway City, Co. Galway,Republic of Ireland (June 20, 2008)
Creag Breach, Co. Mayo, Republic of Ireland (June 23, 2008)
Kingwood, Co. Dublin, Republic of Ireland (June 24, 2008)
Southampton, England, United Kingdom (July 12, 2008)
Phoenix, AZ, USA (Aug. 15-17, 2008)
Phoenix, AZ, USA (Aug. 18-19, 2008)
Atlanta, GA, USA (Aug. 20-22, 2008)
Glendale, CO, USA (Sept. 19-20, 2008)
Vancouver, BC, Canada (Feb. 28, 2009)
Reykjavík, Greater Reykjavík Region, Iceland (Mar. 29, 2009)
Neskaupstaður, Fjarðabyggð, Iceland (Mar. 31, 2009)
Reykjahlíð, Lake Mývatn, Iceland (Apr. 1-2, 2009)
Akureyri, Iceland (Apr. 3, 2009)
Blönduós, Austur-Húnavatnssýsla, Iceland (Apr. 4, 2009)
Borgarnes, Borgarbyggð, Iceland (Apr. 5, 2009)
Reykjavík, Greater Reykjavík Region, Iceland (Apr. 6-7, 2009)
Mutsuura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
Chiba, Chiba Prefecture, Japan
Higashimatsuyama, Saitama Prefecture, Japan
Fuji, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan
Chigasaki, Kanagawa, Japan
Heiwadai, Ikebukuro, Tokyo Prefecture, Japan
Munich, Bavaria, Germany (August 2010)
Coburg, Bavaria, Germany (August 2010)
Chaoyang District, Beijing, China (June 2012)
Qinhuangdao, Hebei Province, China (June 2012)
Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China (January 2013)
Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China (January & February 2013)
New Territories, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (January & February 2013)
Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (February 2013)
Victoria, BC, Canada (May & June 2013)
Anchorage, AK, USA (July 2013)
Santa Fe, Federal District, Mexico (July & August 2013)
Oaxaca de Juarez, Oaxaca, Mexico (August 2013)
Guiyang, Guizhou Province, China (August 2013)
Nanning, Guangxi Province (Sept. 2013)
Powell River, BC, Canada (June 2014)
Washington, DC, USA (March 2015)
New York City, NY, USA (April 2015)
Fairhaven, WA, USA (July 19, 2015)
Agnew, WA, USA (July 20, 2015)
Olympia, WA, USA (July 22-23, 2015)
CZ
Ceske Budojovice, CZ,
Calgary, AB
Edmonton, AB
Taipei, Taiwan
New Taipei City, Taiwan
Tainan, Taiwan
Winnipeg, MB
Nanaimo, BC
Smithers, BC
Kitimat, BC
Seattle, WA
Arch Cape, OR
Salem, OR
Springfield, OR
Ashland, OR
Bend, OR
Ellensburg, WA
Viana do Castelo (again), Portugal (August 27-28, 2024)
Porto, Portugal (August 29-30, 2024)

Hosted:

Now where do I start.....? I'll post up when I have time :)

Interests

If anyone wants to meet to hang out, party, get coffee, have a good conversation, offer up their floor/bed/couch, please don't hesitate to message me. An adventure is always fun when it's not experienced alone (most of the time)!

• festivals
• music
• history
• food
• cultures
• games
• geocaching
• traditions
• pho
• metal detecting
• live-action role playing
• competitive duck herding

Music, Movies, and Books

Bean
I'm into all sorts of music and all kinds books (non-fiction travel recently).

"Nu Lovsalen skygger", "Jeg gik mig i Lunden"

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Cruising in the Spaceship Van on our Atlantic Canada '07 Road Trip.

Cruising the British Isles aboard the Norwegian Jade with my family back in Summer '08.

Cruising in John's red Fiat during the last week of my Ireland '08 trip.

Cruising in the Suzuki Swift on our Iceland '09 Road Trip.

I climbed, along with my brother and a couple other friends, to the top of the Heavenly Capital Peak at Huangshan, the world's most beautiful mountain (and most daring) in the most horrible weather conditions imagineable... and survived!

8 hours ascending and 4 hours descending Mount Fuji.

I see 12:08 (almost) everyday and everywhere I go (time, room number, etc.). Yeah, it has happened time on, time off (more so time on than off) for the past decade :S

Teach, Learn, Share

Learning to teach, teaching to learn... don't share your work!

Memories. Travel stories and experiences. Music. Recipes. Languages. Life hacks. Philosophies. Minimalist tips. Non-minimalist tips. Laughter. Hugs.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Good company and conversation. Knowledge on anything I'm passionate about.

Countries I’ve Visited

Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bermuda, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Russian Federation, San Marino, Scotland, Slovakia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State, Wales

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, China, England, Finland, Japan, Portugal, United Kingdom, United States

•