CURRENT MISSION

Living life, really living it.

ABOUT ME

Interested in almost everything, always ready to learn, eager to be surprised, up for new experiences.
Not a crowd follower, like to make the choices that are right for us.
I am of Canadian origin but also have French citizenship after marrying my (now ex) French husband.
I am university educated with a BA in Romance Languages, an MA in French Literature and a Diploma in Translation). I work freelance as a translator in the wine and gastronomy sector and as a Business English teacher.
I have 3 daughters who are 21, 18, and 11. We are all bilingual (English/French). My eldest daughter is studying Social Anthropology and Spanish at St Andrews University in Scotland and my second daughter is graduating from high school this year and will attend AUC in Amsterdam as of September. My youngest daughter is following the path of her older sisters and attends a public international school where 9 languages are represented, so we are very lucky to have been exposed to many other cultures.
We are not frequent couchsurfers - and Covid really put a stop to it all, though I am eager to start again - but our past experiences have shown us that this is really the way to get the most out of your stay in a foreign country. Or meeting interesting people in your own home town!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

We stayed with two families in Sweden in the summer of 2012 - 1 night with one family - the next morning when it was time to go we regretted having non-refundable train tickets or we would have changed our plans and stayed on. We were really made to feel at home. And were served a delicious dinner! And after that, we stayed with a second family for 3 nights and then we came back several days later for a final night together. This particular family took the time to show us around Malmö, they were really eager to make our stay memorable... and they succeeded. We also had a lovely experience in London a few years ago with a fantastic host.
Couldn't have been better, my daughters want to know when we can go couchsurfing again!
In a world where you sometimes just wonder about people and shake your head, it is refreshing to know that there are warm, generous, human people out there who are welcoming to complete strangers!!! I had to see it for myself to believe it. I am convinced that the people who couchsurf have got it all figured out. They understand what travel is about and what genuine human connection is.
Couchsurfing has pretty much renewed my belief in humankind. And made me think about all the places we could go, travelling this way!
One of the families who hosted us in Sweden came to stay with us last summer and it was great to return the hospitality to them.
In 2018 we had some fantastic experiences in Spain (Bilbao and the countryside near Pamplona) and in 2019 we were warmly welcomed in Sicily.
I have been happy to host the Swedish family who hosted us and I also had the pleasure of welcoming a young Japanese student to Lyon, complete with cooking him a typical Lyonnais meal served with the local Beaujolais wine. He was in heaven and this made me so happy to offer such a special experience to a young traveller.

Interests

Travel, holidays, food, wine, cooking, sustainable gardening and living, other cultures, surfing (real surfing in the ocean!), the beach at any time of year (what I miss perhaps most of all living away from Vancouver), skiing in the winter, cinema (we don't own a TV), reading, theatre, dance, yoga, being together as a family, music, spending time with interesting people, foraging for food in the wild - fruit, mushrooms, shellfish...
Would like to take a sabbatical year to go WOOFing in Japan (or elsewhere) sometime soon.

• dancing
• dining
• cooking
• wine
• wine tasting
• yoga
• gardening
• movies
• reading
• traveling
• music
• surfing
• skiing
• teaching
• freelancing
• languages
• beaches
• parks

Music, Movies, and Books

Very eclectic, depends on my mood and the context.
Better to say what I DON'T like - rap, heavy metal, today's popular music you hear on the radio. I don't like horror films or films with a lot of violence in them. I tend to not like the blockbuster type movies. I like seeing foreign films, but with subtitles.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I've seen and done a lot of amazing things in my life, but the most lasting one has been to put each of our daughters on this planet. Anyone who is a parent - and especially a mother - would understand this. And I've done it 3 times so there's my answer! Host us or come stay with us and you can see for yourself/ves that we did a pretty good job (we think so at least!).
Daily life itself is pretty amazing if you take the time to savour it and look at it from other angles. As a parent it is refreshing to see the wonder children see in even the most seemingly insignificant things...

Teach, Learn, Share

Cooking, French, English, Wine tasting...

What I Can Share with Hosts

A room, a meal, a visit of Lyon, conversation in French or English, who knows what else... life is full of so many surprises and encounters of all sorts!

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Guadeloupe, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Nepal, Netherlands, Portugal, Scotland, Senegal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, France, United States