teacher-writer-editor-publisher-librarian - linguist -ESL mentor-traveller.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Updated, Oct 2018: from Aug. 2016 to Oct 2018 I have had over one hundred guests overnighting in my apartment. Mostly they are Couchsurfers (CS), and occasionally refugees without means. . I just have a sofa bed, and single two cots in my former office area. . My guests have come from twenty countries from Brazil to Yemen. I hear languages from Arabic to Vietnamese, with lots of French, German and Spanish speakers (languages I’m brushing up on all the time). Often I am the only Canadian they meet at close quarters in their travels so I talk about Canada’s /Toronto’s history, government, cuisine(!) or take them on tours (when I have the car) of the city (Cherry Beach, Little India, Scarborough Bluffs), even to Mississauga (Marilyn Monroe building) and Niagara Falls. (They don’t know the names of our coins (nickel, dime, quarter, loonie, twoonie), they ask why the Queen is on our bills and stamps, they ask if there is a difference between Americans and Canadians, zed is not zee, eh! I’ve had as many as six visitors at a time, some on the floor in sleeping bags.They cook interesting meals for me - pasta with salmon, vegetarian dishes, pancakes, masala, mole, mussels and I’ve introduced grilled cheese sandwiches, maple syrup, chicken hearts, Habitant pea soup, zucchini, poutine, butter tarts... I also benefit from their knowledge - they brought me Netflix and Google Chrome, solved my computer problems.They return my beer cans and bottles, fetch things and do laundry. I’ve heard Despacito a thousand times and caught a fascinating German film - Look who’s back. I am learning Spanish swear words from Narcos! I take them to Mundo Lingo meetings.. But Is there a downside? Yeah, there are backpacks all over the place. They shower a lot. Kitchen and bathroom get messy. But nearly always it’s a win-win situation and I’ve never been happier. It keeps me young - and a big plus: several couchsurfers are now close friends! And most couchsurfers are grateful and good people. By the way I am not yet fully fluent in the languages mentioned, except for Italian, but I do have a good vocabulary and honed survival skills in French, Spanish, Portuguese and German. And I am still studying or have studied Russian, Japanese and Turkish.

Interests

This year's travel plans may include Egypt, Quebec City (flag conference), Alberta (wedding) , Corsica (cruise), Benin, Iran, Mozambique or Brazil (practicing Portuguese)!

Music, Movies, and Books

Irish and other ethnic lore, Broadway, Puccini, Zola, G. Grass,
Russian lit and biography
poetry, songwriting, love Cole Porter's Begin the Beguine
best first book J. London's 'Before Adam'. The Kite Runner, The Hound of the Baskervilles,
Netflix - Narcos, Breaking Bad, House of Cards, Quincy Jones, July 22, The Kindergarten teacher, The Staircase, Ozarks, Casa de Papel (Money heist)
Facebook - Flag Forum, Language Exchange

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Survived cancer
Published two books (Flag Congress lectures, Sweden in flags)
Written 1200 pages on use of first names in multicultural societies
Edited several flag journals, including 100 issues of Flagscan
I was in a relationship for 49 1/2 years

Teach, Learn, Share

always passing on my love of the English language

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can cook exciting things, books (a library of 1000 books et al.), meet-ups (Mundo Lingo, CS and Babel), a superb view of Toronto from my balcony,

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Australia, Austria, Barbados, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Curaçao, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada