I am in my early 50s, married and live in Dunedin, NZ. My husband has a PhD in History and has been working part time since we moved to Dunedin 5 years ago. I am working two part-time jobs, one at the University of Otago Bioethics Centre and the other at the Otago Community Hospice. I started working on my PhD in 2018.

Two of our three children are grown and independent. The youngest child is in her last year of high school here in Dunedin.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

My Travel: I am working on the research portion of my PhD and I am funding my own travel. I will be interviewing doctors in Canada about what it is like to be a provider of MAiD since legalisation in 2015.

Hosting: I believe in "pay it forward". We have hosted 7+ exchange students and au pairs in previous years. I have had many lovely older friends over the years who have provided travel experiences for me, hosting is a tribute to them. (Special thank you to 1980s hospitality from Bruno & Delores, and Ernie & Carolyn.)

Interests

• medicine
• travel
• culture exchange
• musical theatre
• bioethics

Music, Movies, and Books

Where to start. Music. Genres- Musical theatre, folk. Musical Theatre- 2019 favourite- "Come from Away", previous favourites have included "Hamilton", and "Wicked"

Movies- favourites seen recently- "Argo", "Mamma Mia", "Crazy Rich Asians", "A Star is Born", "Bohemian Rhapsody". Most recent movie at the cinema- "Rory's Way"

Books- I read a lot. Last book completed (last night)- "MIndhunter"- about how FBI agents learned how to profile criminals

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

We hosted exchange students and au pairs for years. Since I could not travel, we brought people from all over the world to us. We hosted/"parented" our first high school exchange student when we were only 30 and our kids were babies.

Teach, Learn, Share

I have wide and varied interests. I am interested in different cultures and ways of looking at the world. I like to discuss history, science, medicine, ethics, anthropology, linguistics, and many more. I am an engaged conversationalist.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I am intensely curious and I have many interests. I work in fascinating professions- medicine and ethics. I have travelled a lot, volunteered a fair bit; I am interested in learning about the world and people. I like nothing better than a discussion of ideas or events.

Probably easier to list some things I don't know much about-- sports, television programs, celebrities, pop music.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, England, France, French Polynesia, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Malawi, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Panama, Scotland, Serbia, Sweden, Switzerland, Tonga, Turkey

Countries I’ve Lived In

England, New Zealand, United States