ABOUT ME

I am currently working as a postdoctoral researcher on climate change/ sustainability and trade agreements. I lived for many years in Ecuador where I did research for my dissertation and have permanent residency. I bought and renovated an old farmhouse during my PhD, although I did most of the work on it during the pandemic after I had graduated. It is located near the village of Portland between Kingston and Ottawa in Eastern Ontario. I am currently renting out my house, but I am interested in hosting travellers whenever I live there again in the future. I am travelling a fair amount as part of my current work for research and conferences, so I recently reactivated Couchsurfing. In recent years, I have also participated in a home exchange and rented out my house and apartment through Sabbatical Homes, which I’d recommend to people on this platform as another option for homesharing.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I enjoy meeting new people and love the peer to peer model and philosophy of Couchsurfing.

Interests

Hiking, cooking, travel, meditation, DIY projects, gardening

• cooking
• meditation
• gardening
• politics
• traveling
• hiking
• diy projects

Music, Movies, and Books

Bruce Cockburn, Leonard Cohen, Van Morrison, Emmylou Harris, Gordon Lightfoot, Justin Townes Earle are some of my favourite solo artists.

I enjoy folk, old country, outlaw country, Bossa Nova, Jazz, and classical music in general.

I’m a big fan of David Lynch’s movies for their esoteric quality. On the other hand, I appreciate the work of directors Mike Leigh and Ken Loach for their exploration of social justice/ social democratic values in their films.

When I’m not reading for academic research, I like to read about history as well as books about Buddhism. I’ve enjoyed the work of historían Tony Judt and his book Thinking the Twentieth Century. I’ve also read a couple of historical fiction books about the Chinese Cultural Revolution (a period in history which I find equal parts horrifying and fascinating). I’ve also enjoyed reading or listening as audiobooks to Pico Iyer’s work; he is a great writer.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Good conversation, collaborating on cooking a meal together, practicing Spanish or English conversations for learners of either languages.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Italy, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States, Venezuela

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, Ecuador, Peru