Hello, my name is James. I am Deaf and gay. I live in Auckland, New Zealand and work as a teacher for Deaf children.

I have loved traveling ever since my first overseas trip to the Cook Islands when I was 9 years old! So far I have stayed in 17 countries.

COVID-19: I have had three shots of the Pfizer vaccine in New Zealand. If hosts would like to see proof please feel free to ask for it and I will happily share this.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I would like to be able to explore more places and to get to know people in the places I am visiting.

I am happy to stay with Deaf and/or queer people but also willing to stay with people who are gay/deaf-friendly.

I have no experience with couch surfing, but I have stayed with friends and families while traveling instead of staying in hotel rooms. I think this gives me a better insight into their local areas and I hope couch surfing will give me a similar experience.

Interests

Hiking/Mountains/Nature - I love doing both day walks as well as overnight/multi-day treks. In my home country I am a member of a Deaf tramping club and we go on multi-day treks about 1-2 times each year in various national parks.
Sign Language/Deaf - I am Deaf and fluent in New Zealand Sign Language. During my travels I hope to meet Deaf people from all over the world.
Gay/Queer - I am Gay and also would like to meet other Gay people and find out more about the history of gay peoples in different countries.
Technology - I am bit of a computer geek and generally just interested in all sort of technology. Two specific technical hobbies I have are playing argumented reality games (especially Ingress) and finding mobile phone towers.
Teaching - I am a Teacher of the Deaf, teaching children aged between 5-13 years old. I previously taught community night classes in New Zealand Sign Language for several years. I am happy to meet with other people who work in the Deaf education field.

Music, Movies, and Books

My favorite movies are: Brokeback Mountain and Billy Elliot.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I find it hard to choose so here's a few:-
- Finding my mother's birthplace in The Hague, Netherlands.
- Going up the Berlin TV tower, an iconic DDR landmark in Germany.
- Doing day treks through the beautiful Blue Mountains near Sydney, Australia.
- Exploring the historic Old Town of Prague in the Czech Repubic.
- Eating amazing food from all the different countries I've been to.
- Visiting the set of the Coronation Street TV show in Manchester, England.
- Taking a detour up a hill in Iceland so I could get close up pictures of mobile phone towers.
- Renting an electric scooter in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and realizing the KL streets are not fit for scooters!
- Visiting a Labour museum in Bangkok, Thailand and learnt the reality of life for Thai workers.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I am happy to share:-
- our beautiful language, New Zealand Sign Language 👐
- tips for traveling around our beautiful country, New Zealand

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Cook Islands, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Romania, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

New Zealand