Hi there! I'm Kexin, a Chinese-Canadian who grew up in Gatineau, which is right across Ottawa, in Quebec. I spent most of my childhood speaking french but started learning English at the end of elementary school, and as a result I'm pretty fluent in both. I also speak mandarin since I was born in China, and that's technically my first language. However I can't say that I'm fluent haha! I currently live in Montreal, and will be able to accept guests starting Sept 2019.

I'm on a gap year right now, well actually a 2 year gap year, and I'm going back to school this upcoming September in Montreal. I finished my College degree two years ago, and I'm currently registered as an independent student, but I want to complete a on year certificate in psychology as well as another one year certificate in adventure guiding!

I currently don't have any occupations but over the past years I have worked as a piano teacher for 4 years, a waitress for a little less than a year, a whitewater raft guide for a whole season and a sales advisor for outdoor sporting gear at Mountain Equipment Coop for a bit over a year. I also worked in two climbing gyms but only for short periods of time. This summer, I have also picked cherries for a month.

Aside from that, I've became a passionate rock climber over the last 2 years, and I'm always stoked to meet other climbers! I'm going to spend a good two weeks in Squamish at the end of this summer.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

In the past year I have travelled 3 times on my own for 2 weeks to 2 months and have only used couchsurfing once as a guest,. but I'm definetely looking forward to be more active on it! I'm mainly on couchsurfing to meet different kinds of people and to make friends all over the world , but I think it's a great way to make travelling not only cheaper (cuz hotels are expensive!!!) but a lot more interesting. What I like is to also share my experiences with people I meet, and look on what I can give back as well. I think it's interesting to see how sharing and accepting kindness bring people together, and I'd like to also pay it forward to hosting people on the upcoming year!

I'm also always willing to learn about other cultures, languages, sports, hobbies, etc., which is something very exciting for me on couch surfing.

Interests

• traveling
• dumpster diving
• bouldering
• piano
• outdoor activities
• backpacking
• whitewater rafting
• rock climbing
• new experiences
• wild camping
• cycle touring
• bikepacking
• road biking

Music, Movies, and Books

I don't really watch movies but I'm fine watching pretty much all of them. and

As for music, I like most kinds of music, except heavy metal and radio pop, you know?
Among my favorite groups are : Of monsters and men, Cat Empire, and Quebec Redneck Bluegrass Project (I think only Quebeckers know this one!)

My all time favorite book series is Harry Potter! Although I'm always looking for new reads so feel free to share some of your favorites with me

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Hard to chose... there are so many! ;)

Seriously though, I would say I did an 18-day expedition when I was 18 or that I learned whitewater raft guiding over a summer.

I'd also started hitchhiking alone recently, not any huge trips or anything but I'm pretty stoked to have done it. I got some pretty funky stories from it though!

Teach, Learn, Share

I think I already covered this section in the other ones, but in sum;

Teach : anything mentioned previously that I know
Learn : well, I'm currently learning trad climbing. If you can mentor me that'd be DOPE! I'm also trying to learn spanish
Share : anything really!! experiences, knowledge, language, climbing equipment, books, BEER!!

What I Can Share with Hosts

FOOOOOOOD! I have been a vegetarian for 8 years so I can share tons of recipes! I'm also willing to cook meals pretty often for everyone! :)

Aside from that, I can teach piano, as I have done in the past for about 4 years. I can also teach the basics of rockclimbing, as well as bring you on an outdoor trip if you've never done any! Otherwise, if you'd like to learn either french or mandarin I can give you a hand with that.

But yeah pretty much anything is good.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Canada, China, France, Ireland, Italy, Monaco, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, China