Hi, I'm David, a Native English Teacher from Canada. This is my new account with Couchsurfing because, like a lot of people, I lost access to my original account once this website held access to our accounts up for ransom. So don't get thrown off (confused) by this new profile's claim that I am from Morocco.

Here is a link to my old CS profile, which has been inactive since the time when a lot of CS members lost access to their accounts: https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/david-lavrencic

In late 2022, I signed up for WorkAway. At the best of times, a WorkAway project will feel something like a CouchSurfing experience. My WorkAway profile can be viewed at https://www.workaway.info/en/workawayer/David87054/overview

Anyway, here's the part of my autobiographical summary that doesn't involve websites:

I aspire to be fit, adventurous, and open-minded. All things considered, I think I do a pretty good job at working toward those goals. I have been teaching professionally for several years and am finishing up a programme to gain a new teaching credential/certificate.

I was born and raised in the province of Ontario, Canada, in a town with no jobs or any grassroots, non-commercial culture. I lived there for most of my life, but after struggling to get consistent/stable employment after graduating from university, I decided to go teach abroad in South Korea. After all, being a teaching assistant was the thing I enjoyed most from my time as a graduate student. Once in Korea, I really enjoyed the experience of living in a very different society and being able to enjoy a completely different landscape, diet, and learn about very different people through direct engagement.

Once I returned to Canada, I completed a construction training program and then moved to a western province (Alberta) to learn trade skills that were reportedly in high demand and could yield steady and lucrative employment. I got into manual labor with hopes of becoming an electrician. To broaden my chances of getting into a line of work that interested me, I simultaneously waited on the Canadian Navy to admit me as a Marine Engineer. Neither of those career aspirations ended up working out, so I cut my losses and resumed the journey that had yielded me the best results: I upgraded my teaching credentials/qualifications and went back to teaching abroad.

I taught in China for several years and was quite happy to work there. However, I wanted to learn new things and see what the rest of Asia was like, so I began a 'slow travel' journey across the continent. I deliberately chose to do things like walk as much as possible, eat only local foods, and interact with locals. In other words, I chose to live like a 'traveler' rather than a 'tourist' so that I could gain insight into the people and place around me that was more authentic, meaningful, and memorable than what I would get from simply staying at resorts, interacting with other foreigners, and eating familiar foods.

During my travels, I got into voluntary and community-oriented projects through CouchSurfing to make new friends, get better insight into local cultures, and enjoy the perks that come with work exchange. Here are some of the WorkAway-style projects I completed before joining this website:

- I helped local people practice their English speaking and listening skills and provided coaching in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and Bangkok, Thailand. I returned to continue helping at the project in Bangkok for several years.

- I treated, prepared meals for, fed, cleaned up after, and interacted with dogs at an animal shelted on Penang Island, Malaysia.

- I worked at a hotel resort on Langkawi Island, Malaysia. My duties included reception (greeting and registering guests) and transporting luggage/baggage from the front desk to rooms. I was also responsible for preparing, serving, and clearning up meals for breakfast.

- I acted as the caretaker of my friend's airbnb home for over half a year. I was responsible for welcoming guests and helping them locate the property, housekeeping duties, giving advice related to tourism, and helping them order and pay for things online. In rare occasions when guests were too sick to go out, I shopped for food and delivered it to their rooms.

Since joining WorkAway in late 2022, here are the projects I have done while working toward my new teaching credential:

- I spent one month teaching English at a training center in Lamphun, a rural area outside of Chiang Mai, Thailand. Most of my classes were with kindergarten students. I was also responsible for looking after my host's home and pets (2 cats and 1 dog) while she was away on vacation.

- I volunteered at an organic, free-range goat farm 19 kilometers away from Ulu Tiram - a town in Johor, Malaysia. Most of my work involved site maintenance, cleaning, and tending to the goats. Some baby goats unfortunately became orphaned, so they required special attention and support - not unlike a human baby. I loved the animals, the farming community, the environment, and the work that I was doing. However, after 3 weeks of service, I had to move on because both the farm's portable internet service and my phone's data service became unreliable and I fell behind in my online course work.

- I did cleaning and gardening at a private home in Ipoh City, Malaysia. I also provided some tech support/consultation for the master of that home.

- I did eco gardening, construction, and site maintenance at a resort in Kubang Kerian - a rural town near Kota Bharu, Malaysia.

- I accepted an invitation to tutor a Thai family's young son online. Once I returned to Thailand, the family invited me to stay at their house in Songkhla province. While there, I did some gardening as well as in-person tutoring.

- I volunteered at an English school in Nonthaburi, Thailand. My main duty was coaching students as they completed their workbooks. I also engaged with them through interviews, interactive lessons, and by giving them detailed feedback on the academic writing they produced.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I want to meet people and enjoy the sort of memorable experiences that can only occur when enjoying the company of others.

I host when I can, and when doing so, make efforts to help travelers feel welcome, get around, and see and experience things that interest them.

When traveling, I hope others will treat me at least as well as I treat my guests and the travelers I show around. At the very least, I hope to meet up with people, chat, go exploring, or do other fun things.

Interests

• culture
• cooking
• fitness
• meditation
• reading
• coding
• hiking
• snorkeling
• baseball
• swimming
• softball
• badminton
• learning languages
• diving
• free diving
• talking
• programming
• frisbee
• bodysurfing

Music, Movies, and Books

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Music:
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- Rock: Weezer, Oasis, Guns N' Roses, Aerosmith, Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, The Offspring, Alice in Chains

- RNB/Funk/Soul: Michael Jackson, Prince, Robin Thicke, Rick James, Moby, Boney M.

- Film Scores: Barry Adamson, Angelo Badalamenti, Riz Ortolani, John Williams

- 꽃별 / Ccotbyel

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Books:
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-George Orwell's Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty Four

-Ian Halperin's The Governator

-Dee Snider's Shut Up and Give Me the Mic!

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Movies:
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- Pulp Fiction

- Reservoir Dogs

- Indiana Jones (Raiders, Doom, and Crusade)

- It Follows

- Platoon

- Labyrinth

- Full Metal Jacket

- Return of the Living Dead

- The Ninth Gate

- Lost Highway

- John Carpenter's The Thing

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Here are a few amazing things I've experienced:

-I roamed South-East Asia, with only very general ideas of what I would do or where I would go. It proved to be a valuable learning experience!

-I was assaulted by a Chinese cop - in a bank, no less! The cop got upset when I yelled at him for illegally driving on the sidewalk toward pedestrians, blasting his motorbike horn all the while. He was trying to bait me into striking him, but I made him look like a jackass by exposing him as a bully to everyone.

-I braved crossing the traffic-ridden roads of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and Hanoi and lived to tell the tale. Contrary to appearances, I would say Chinese traffic is infinitely more chaotic and hostile to pedestrians than Vietnamese traffic.

-I swam far from the shore in some beautiful Philippine beaches, observing incredible aquatic life.

-I celebrated Songkran in Thailand in 2019 and 2023.

-On 2019-08-24, I deliberately went bodysurfing during a typhoon and got knocked silly. This was along the coast of China's Xiamen island.

-I left Canada to live and work abroad.

Teach, Learn, Share

There are things we do control, and then there are things we don't control. It makes no sense to worry about things outside of our control. The simple fact is that we do not - and cannot - control everything that happens to us, but we can control how we respond. A lot of the time that people spend worrying about things that might happen is time wasted on purely fictional scenarios that tend to be worst case scenarios. It is also worth noting that we cannot always know or predict scenarios that will ultimately benefit us. Sometimes what seems like the worst possible outcome is actually preferable to a lot of other outcomes we hadn't considered, or fully thought through.

So long as we do our best and are eager to learn from our mistakes, failure is not to be feared! As unpleasant as it can sometimes seem, failure can be a means toward improvement, learning, and - just maybe - eventual perfection.

"A winner is a loser who tried one more time."
- George Augustus Moore

Instead of having worrisome thoughts like "What if I try and fail?," we ought to instead ask ourselves, "What if I fail to capitalize on opportunities by not trying?" The only people who truly fail are those who never try and those who never put forth any sincere effort.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can cook moderatly sophisticated meals. I like to do a lot of stir fry cooking, and take pride in making meals that are traditional, made with natural ingredients, and healthy.

I am clean and tidy, and more than willing to chip in to help people kind enough to accommodate me.

I am cool with doing the dishes or even mopping / vacuuming the floor.

I have lived with cats; I enjoy playing with them, and don't mind feeding or cleaning up after them.

I worked out to develop upper body strength and definition, so I can help with lifting big / heavy stuff and moving it around, if that's what a situation calls for.

I can diagnose and fix many computer problems. Sometimes I can do wonders with smartphones, like the time I un-bricked an Android smartphone with zero help from the manufacturer.

I'm down with sharing stories and experiences with people, and cultivating relationships. Having more friends you can turn to for comfort and insight is usually a good thing!

Countries I’ve Visited

Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, United States, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, China, Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand, Viet Nam