CURRENT MISSION

Save some money for my next vacation to ... ???? !!!

Yea! Finally, my address has been "verified" by Couchsurfing. All other requirements were verified, but I was having trouble with my address, as Couchsurfing EDITED my address as living in "Taichung, Taiwan, Province of China".

OF COURSE, Taiwan, R.O.C. (Republic of China) has ZERO AFFILIATION with "China" (Mainland China, or The P.R.C. - People's Republic of China).

Couchsurfing CERTAINLY KNOWS THIS, as WE ALL KNOW THIS. So WHAT THE HELL is the idea of posting such horrific LIES about Taiwan, R.O.C., where I live? CS have since explained that they follow addresses as posted by some "international standard" (meaning they ignore the reality of the situation); but at least, they've finally fixed the problem for ME, anyway (after several e-mails and exchanges... ugh!)

FYI: Taiwan is a FORMALLY DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC (unlike the Communist CCP controlled autocratic dictatorship of The P.R.C., Mainland China) with its own currency, social-capitalist economy, independent free democratic elections, FREE PRESS, FREE INTERNET CONNECTIVITY, FREE SPEECH LAWS, and is a signatory to The United Nations "Universal Declaration of Human Rights". You think The P.R.C. is???

ABOUT ME

Canadian living in Taiwan (for more than 20 years!). I live my life as peacefully as possible, working here as an English Teacher. I use Taiwan as a jumping-off point for travelling around Asia. I hope to see more of the world soon! I currently live in Taichung City, but have traveled all around Taiwan, and know the country pretty well.

PHILOSOPHY

Treat others as you'd like to be treated (Makes sense, right?) Why can't we be FAIR to one and other? I'm non-religious now, and just think it makes the best sense!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I joined Couch Surfers, and have hosted, and been hosted! A friend told me about this, and it looked amazing; I wish I'd known about it sooner! I also have a spare bedroom sometimes available here in Taichung City, Taiwan.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I’ve been fortunate to host in Taiwan a number of Couch-surfers in the past couple of years, while Couch-surfing myself in Taipei, Philippines and Malaysia. This is a great system to share our resources and experiences. So far, so good!

Interests

I LOVE hockey, and play ball/street-hockey here in Taiwan as often as possible. I LOVE music, of many genres, but grew up with 4 older brothers (a few of them hippies, haha!), so my influence is late 60's/early 70's progressive-rock (Pink Floyd, Yes, Jethro Tull, Supertramp, The Who, etc.) But I enjoy everything from classical to jazz. I LOVE film, and live theatre. I used to be a theatre reviewer in Vancouver, and would see up to 300 shows a year... (crazy, huh?) That's why I want to travel around to see the Fringe Festivals of Asia! I read, and like writing (poetry, prose, drama, song). I scuba-dive, with PADI Advanced Open Water certification. Non-smoker, non-religious, light-drinker, LOVE good food !!!

• traveling
• music
• scuba diving
• hockey
• anthropology
• teaching
• philosophy
• food
• risk (the game)

Music, Movies, and Books

Too many to list! But a few off the top of my head:
Films:
"The Hustler" - 1961 (starring Paul Newman)
"The Proposition" - 2005 (starring Guy Pearce)
"Brokeback Mountain" - 2005 (directed by Ang Lee)
(2005 was a good year!)
"Casablanca" - 1942 (starring Humphrey Bogart)
Books:
"Crime and Punishment" - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
"Shame" - Salman Rushdie
"My Life as a Fake" - Peter Carey
Music (albums):
"Close to the Edge" - Yes
"Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere" - Neil Young
"Rhapsody in Blue" - George Gershwin
"Graceland" - Paul Simon
"Tumbleweed Connection" - Elton John
"A New World Record" - Electric Light Orchestra

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I have been in love, while being loved.

Teach, Learn, Share

Always willing to share what I might know to anyone who would like to learn. Always willing to learn something new from anyone who takes the time to show me!

What I Can Share with Hosts

A Poem:

"Piano Lessons"
Eight years of piano lessons
And I know where Middle-C is
It's under the "i" in Steinway

d.easton

Countries I’ve Visited

Brunei Darussalam, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Macao, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, Thailand, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, Philippines, Taiwan