CURRENT MISSION

Meet people and learn about other cultures, histories, food, etc.

ABOUT ME

Tend to be a quiet country boy from Nebraska who has lived in Chicago for 30 years. Spent my life as an educator and recently retired from teaching in Chicago Public Schools where I taught in inner-city schools for 22 years. Dedicated to the students I worked with. Enjoyed helping my students explore the world, especially by taking some to developing countries. Very curious person who can talk to anyone from the janitor to president of the company and always learn something new from each person, taking a genuine interest in each as an individual. Like people on a one-on-one basis but not a crowd person. Caring person who is a good listener. Eager to learn new things from nature to technology to ways of life. Tries to have small footprint on the Earth. Loves to travel with a backpack rather than in four-star hotels and help people learn more about the wider world.

PHILOSOPHY

Enjoy meeting and interacting with people from all over the world. Believe that such interactions help defuse the tensions of the world and help people to better understand the rest of the world--promoting cooperation and peaceful interaction. Love to travel vicariously through the interesting guests that I have hosted in my home.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I have surfed with people and hosted a wide variety of people from CS, Hospitality Club, and Global Freeloaders from across the US and the world.

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COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Traveled before the Internet on informal word of mouth couch surfing. Traveled with Couch Surfing Hospitality Club and have hosted CS & HC members in my home.

Interests

Nature, wildlife, scuba, snorkeling, gardening, cultures, travel, people, food (growing, cooking, eating)

• wildlife
• dining
• cooking
• gardening
• technology
• traveling
• socializing
• backpacking
• scuba diving
• snorkeling
• teaching
• lakes
• rivers

Music, Movies, and Books

Enjoy a variety of books---Malcolm Gladwell's Tipping Point, Outliers, Blink, David and Goliath; Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs & Steel; Collapse; Barbara Kingsolver's Poisonwood Bible, book on eating locally, &; others; Isabel Allende's books.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Galapagos, African rainforest, glacier on Mt. Kenya, traveled on Niger and Nile Rivers in large local boats, snow in Hawaii, hundreds of thousands of Sandhills cranes along the Platte River in Nebraska, Moscow in 1977, Egyptian pyramids, village in upper reaches of Peruvian Amazon, harvesting upland rice in West Africa, wildlife and lakes of the Sandhills of Nebraska (largest sand dune area after the Sahara), people all over the world

Teach, Learn, Share

Knowledgeable about the US--traveled to all states except Alaska, lived in five different states from a town of 200 to Chicago, from Honolulu to central Nebraska farming community.

What I Can Share with Hosts

My travel experiences and love of meeting people. Can share activities and sites to see in Chicago.

Countries I’ve Visited

Algeria, Austria, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Czech Republic, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, France, Gambia, Germany, Ghana, Guatemala, Iceland, India, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Mali, Mexico, Morocco, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Panama, Peru, Poland, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, United Kingdom, Vatican City State, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, Liberia, South Korea, United States

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