I am actually a we. We are Chris and Rachel, an English couple, who left England in 2012 to travel and experience some of the world. We quit our jobs, sold up everything and left with two backpacks and a little money in the bank hoping to find somewhere to call home.
We are 55 and 46 and like to think we have open minds and a willingness to understand different lifestyles and cultures. So far we have only really explored Asia but are now about to dive into Central and South America.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

We are trying couch surfing as a way to meet people from different walks of life. To experience places through the eyes of a local as opposed to just the obvious things you would see as a tourist. We do not currently have a property to offer reciprocal experiences but similarly we are not looking for free meal tickets. We want to be able to share our experiences with hosts and, hopefully, help out where we can and maybe provide some entertaining conversations over dinner. We have already made some very good friends in several countries we've visited through other social media (workaway/housesitting) and would hope that couch surfing will enable us to add to this list.

Interests

We both had previous business experience before leaving England but have since taken an intensive course in teaching English. We have had both new and old properties so are handy at most maintenance issues.
We are avid readers and don't go anywhere without our kindles. Prior to leaving England, and since leaving, we did not have a television so would be active in lots of sports and social activities. Gym, dance classes, golf, gardening, and of course eating and drinking a glass or two of wine! We are big animal lovers and Chris enjoys running, especially if there's a dog that will trot along with him.

• animals
• dogs
• dancing
• wine
• running
• drinking
• gardening
• traveling
• socializing
• surfing
• sports
• golf
• business
• communications

Music, Movies, and Books

That's a difficult one...favourite music. Rachel likes easy listening, but Chris has eclectic taste and listens to anything.
Movies...there's nothing like a good comedy but we also like a murder mystery, horror, travel movies, anything with a good story.
Books...Chris again has eclectic taste and has read most of the Penguin top 500 classics. The same as movies, we read pretty much any genre of books. The last book Rachel read was 'Man at the Helm' by Nina Stibbe and Chris' last read was 'What Milo Saw' by Virginia Macgregor.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Taking the plunge to change our lifestyle completely and letting go of all material possessions to allow us the freedom to grab every opportunity that comes along.

Teach, Learn, Share

We are both qualified ESL teachers so would be more than happy to spend time encouraging English learning.
As we are heading to Central nd South America we need to learn Spanish. We also interested to hear about people's lives and understand different cultures.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Between us we have had lots of experiences in business, teaching and just life, that we can share. We are generous with our time, as it's one thing we have plenty of, and don't mind pitching in with diy projects, animal and child care, we can turn our hand to most things.

Countries I’ve Visited

Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Belgium, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Canada, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Egypt, England, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Laos, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Saint Lucia, Scotland, Singapore, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Tanzania, Thailand, Tonga, Tunisia, United States, Vatican City State, Viet Nam, Wales

Countries I’ve Lived In

England, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand