You can read more about me on my blog, www.jftrumm.com.

In terms of my personal life, I'm divorced with two children (twin boys) who are now adults and living on opposite coasts. I just finished a teaching assignment in Tunisia and am now back home in Toledo, Ohio planning future travels.

In my professional life, I'm an experienced ESL tutor, manager, writer, editor, and instructor.

As a tutor, I worked with international executives employed by Chrysler, Jeep, Owens Corning, and other companies to ensure that they are fluent in business English. I also provided English language instruction and cultural competency training to those executives’ spouses and children. I worked as well with American elementary, middle school and high school students who were studying English, History and Humanities.

As a manager, I supervised tutoring on the Toledo-area campus of Owens Community College for three and a half years and was responsible for the hiring, training, scheduling and supervision of approximately 100 tutors and 15 student workers.

As a writer, I am currently working on fiction and nonfiction accounts of my expatriate experience in Asia. I have experience in grant writing, reviewing books and writing op-eds for a daily newspaper, and developing training materials and policy handbooks for academia. I am particularly skilled at editing English documents written by non-native speakers so that they sound perfectly idiomatic and natural.

As an instructor, I taught English as a second language to children aged 6 to 12 in Yuxi, China and in Sousse, Tunisia. I have also taught Composition I and II, Introduction to Humanities, Introduction to Philosophy, Principles of Ethics, Study Skills, Health Care Law, Legal Writing, and Civil Litigation to college and junior college students.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Since I'm between teaching gigs, I hope to continue my travels. I'm planning a trip from Chicago to Portland, Oregon, via the route taken by Robert Pirsig in Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Motorcycling solo can be lonely, so I hope to find people to stay with along the way to share a meal and conversation with. Right now, I am not in a position to host, but when I finally decide to stop traveling and put down roots, I hope to do just that.

Though I don't have Couchsurfing references, I do have references from housesitting, which I would be glad to share upon request.

Interests

I am active in community theater, the co-founder of a book club that reads literature in translation, an occasional long-distance bicyclist and motorcyclist. Travel is my passion; in the last two years I have traveled extensively in Southeast Asia and North Africa.

• arts
• humanities
• writing
• books
• literature
• theater
• ethics
• cooking
• instructor
• clubbing
• traveling
• blogging
• business
• teaching
• emergency services
• history
• law

Music, Movies, and Books

I listen to all types of music, but as a product of my generation, I like rock n roll best. However, I go to blues festivals, listen to classical music every Sunday, sing choral music from time to time, love jazz, and tune in the local country station at least once a week.

I like French films of all kinds and American films from the 1970s most of all. Classic adventure tales appeal to the traveler in me. I also like SciFi, particularly the kind that raises interesting questions about the here and now.

I'm a promiscuous reader; I'll get into bed with just about any old book. My favorite author is Thomas Pynchon, though John D. MacDonald is a close second.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

In my early fifties, I did what a lot of people do when their in their twenties: I packed up all my possessions, put them in storage, and went to China to teach English for a year.

Teach, Learn, Share

I always appreciate learning new practical skills: how to cook something, how to work on my motorcycle, how to speak a new language.

What I Can Share with Hosts

A positive, helpful attitude; good manners; tales from my travels (e.g., being interrogated by the Tunisian police on suspicion of fornication); interesting conversation; help with minor household maintenance and duties.

Countries I’ve Visited

Bahamas, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Canada, China, Colombia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Jamaica, Laos, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Portugal, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Venezuela, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

China, Tunisia, United States