Current Mission
My goal is to teach in a different country every 2 years. Since I have just started this goal has yet to be met.

About Me
I am a Canadian in the city of Yongcheng, Shangqiu, in the province of Henan, China. I have recently graduated from the University of Western Ontario as well as the University of Toronto and am a new teacher trying to survive teaching in China! I teach English at a high school in Yongcheng. Since I love teaching and travelling, coming to China was an easy choice because it has allowed me to fulfill both of these passions. On the side, I enjoy blogging about my experiences.

I was born in Canada but moved to Pakistan shortly afterwards where I lived for 6 years before moving back to Canada. In Canada I have lived in the city of Kitchener, which is my hometown and the city of Toronto and London, where I went to university. Currently the city I am in is extremely obscure which makes I feel makes my life more interesting. Having grown up in two extremely different countries and cultures, as well as being fortunate enough to live in such a diverse and multicultural country, I feel like I have lived a very fortunate life and have had a lot of exposure to different cultures while also being able to befriend many people.

My Philosophy
I take a postmodern approach to life which I feel is very liberating for me.

If this above text does not suffice, please feel free to ask me for more information or to check out my blog.
https://fahad561.wordpress.com/

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

While training to become a teacher, I heard nothing but positive comments about Couchsurfing from my mentor as well as my friends. Naturally, since I am new to travelling and adventures, I was curious to try this out for myself. I also LOVE to meet new people while travelling and to form some sort of meaning with the experiences I have rather than the mundane experience of being alone.

Interests

I cannot emphasize enough how much I love music. I am constantly listening to music and looking at aggregated critics lists for new music. I take a similar approach to film as well but this is much more time consuming since films require a greater commitment, in terms of time. I also have a passion for studying and discovering new art, which is what I majored in. Aside, from music, films, and art, I also enjoy video games, although this interest has been limited due to travelling with a laptop. Basically, I love to consume all media possible. I am trying to get into photography and learn more about photography, from a practical viewpoint. I also enjoy reading in my free time although lately I have been exclusively reading 'The New Yorker,' 'The New York Times,' and NPR. I also love going to museums to see any art. In my my spare time I try to learn the guitar, although I cannot seem to grasp playing chords.

• arts
• culture
• photography
• dining
• movies
• video games
• reading
• traveling
• blogging
• music
• guitar
• art history
• communications
• teaching
• history
• languages

Music, Movies, and Books

Music
My favourite music varies but I can safely say that ‘Revolver’ by The Beatles and ‘Is This It’ by The Strokes are my two favourite albums of all time.

Movies
When it comes to films I try to go through anything I can based on Rotten Tomatoes. More specifically, I enjoy anything by Terrence Malick and Wong Kar-wai.

Books
In terms of favourite books, I would say ‘Dubliners’ by James Joyce is a particular favourite of mine when it comes to modern classics. Something more contemporary that I have enjoyed is ‘White Teeth’ by Zadie Smith. However, I am into all forms of literature even though I tend to alternate between classics and postmodern works.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Going to teach in a very small and unknown location in China is probably the most amazing thing that I have ever done. Going to Venice was also pretty amazing but that experience was a typical tourist experience.

Teach, Learn, Share

Teach
Formally, I can teach knowledge regarding Art History, History, and English as well the language Urdu/Hindi. Informally, I can teach lots of trivial knowledge about popular culture; such as films, television, and video games, etc. and how to play flip cup! But all kidding aside I am willing to teach all that I am able.

Learn
I am open to learning abut anything, especially food and languages. When it comes to languages I would love to improve my French since I have very basic knowledge of it as well how to play the guitar. In short I’ll just quote the song “The Jeweler’s Hand’s” by the Arctic Monkeys: “If you've a lesson to teach me I'm listening, ready to learn.”

Share
I am pretty open when it comes to sharing any experiences because I feel that it is important to share experiences in order to better ourselves as well as others.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can teach the Urdu language and a lot of trivial knowledge.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, China, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Pakistan, Taiwan

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, China, Pakistan, Taiwan