Hi, About Us, actually... :)

About Lynn:
I'm originally American, but haven't lived there since 1989. I moved around in the Midwest of the US growing up, and have lived in 6 different countries since university~so far.
For the last 25 years, I've been an English language teacher (now semi-retired), but before that, was an NGO Volunteer Coordinator, Radio DJ and News Reporter, Home Care Assistant, Japanese Teacher, Cook on a Boat...

About Ken:
I'm from England, but haven't lived there since finishing university in 1980. I hopped on a cheap flight to HK, and when my money ran out, became an English teacher there. Now retired.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

We want to share the special experience of living in this traditional Chinese house in a beautiful national park village in Kinmen (金門), Taiwan. If you're at all interested in architecture, come! Our guest room and bathroom are the newest parts of the house, probably from the early 70s. The house oozes with patina and character...

We enjoy meeting people from different places. That's no doubt YOU! :)

Interests

Lynn:
--Exercising, mainly swimming, also floor-sweeping
--Trying to be a good community/world citizen (have co-organised 350 Climate
Change events, ran a monthly village book club...)
--Reading Chinese (mainly children's books from the library, up to
middle school level now!)
--Singing and Choirleading
--Being environmentally friendly
Ken:
--Cooking and Baking (our bread is all homemade)
--Beachcombing, and then making DIY furniture from the findings
--Watching YouTube
--Gardening

• singing
• diy
• cooking
• baking
• exercise
• gardening
• news
• reading
• socializing
• swimming

Music, Movies, and Books

We like to sing acapella world music. If you like to sing, let us know and we'll teach you a song so we can sing together! Or maybe you can teach us...

Lynn:
My Life as a Dog is my favorite movie
The Danger of a Single Story is my favorite TED Talk, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

I'm happy to read any Chinese children's book that
a) enables me to learn more Chinese characters, and
b) does NOT have animals as the main characters

Ken:
I spend far too much time watching various documentaries on YouTube.
I read just about anything and everything in English...

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Lynn:
Saved a Taipei pond which had frogs croaking in it every spring from getting concreted up by a construction company

Ken:
Never learned how to drive a car

Both of us:
Lived on the Galapagos Islands for 6 months as volunteer English teachers at the Charles Darwin Research Station--it was the islands that were amazing, not us!

Teach, Learn, Share

Lynn can teach you swimming if you stay long enough!

Ken can take you to/point you in the direction of lots of local sites.

What I Can Share with Hosts

We can give you 100% of your space if you want. :)

We have a few true stories about Cross-Cultural Communication. :)

If you feel comfortable letting Ken loose in your kitchen, he can whip up something delicious with whatever you've got in the pantry!

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Canada, China, Fiji, France, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Peru, Russian Federation, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Ecuador, England, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Taiwan, United States