I'm currently teaching English in ZhengZhou, Henan, China. Until this past year I'd only really lived in Canada, though there have been a few excursions to South America. I will be teaching here until the end of June, 2015, after which I'll be returning to Canada to find gold. No, seriously, that's the plan!

I'm a geeky liberal guy who loves adventure. I'm introverted but sociable, and love to experience new cultures and social settings - as long as they're friendly!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I'm far from home right now, and don't have many contacts anywhere I might go. I've been a member for years, but when I joined I was living with a woman who also had a profile, and we tended to just use hers. The same has been true recently, with my fiance. In January of 2015, however, she and I will each be taking separate vacations - her to Japan and Taiwan, me to the Philippines and Vietnam. So it's long past time that I actually fill this out!

Interests

Here's a list of some of my interests. I normally don't capitalize words in a list, but it makes this ever-so-much more readable:

Science, Adventuring, Geology, Relationships, Naturalism, Positivism, Polyamory, Road trips, Camping, PC strategy games, Board games, Karaoke, Cooking, Making plans, Canoeing, and Prospecting.

• cooking
• board games
• traveling
• karaoke
• canoeing
• camping
• geology
• languages
• science
• road trips

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: Nostalgic stuff from the 80s-90s. And late 60s. Wait, if it's from the late 60s, that's nostalgic by definition, isn't it?
Movies: Very broad. I like most movies. Though, sci-fi adventure stuff is always good!
Books: I normally read articles these days, be they journal, news, or blog articles. But I'm up for any well-written book, generally.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I got to travel into the cramped depths of an unofficial emerald mine (garimpo) in Brazil. It was incredible being about 100m below-surface, in a narrow tunnel...yet being completely calm. It was as though I was at home, despite being in a situation that would normally cause intense claustraphobia. Oh, and the raw emeralds were cool, too. :)

Teach, Learn, Share

Teach: Science, language, mineral prospecting, calm argumentation, relationship advice, cooking

Learn: Local languages, *new* cooking, what life is like in new places, how better to love

Share: Isn't that just a mixture of teaching and learning?

What I Can Share with Hosts

I'll share my stories with you, if you share yours with me. I might try to make you laugh a lot. And I'd love to cook meals for you - it's the least I can do!

Countries I’ve Visited

Brazil, Canada, China, Costa Rica, South Korea, United States, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, China