I am a happily married semi-retired/graduate student who wants to travel some and meet people with interest in social justice in cities, and public spaces. I am currently working on a PhD from the University of Alberta. I most often travel with my wife but on rare occasions will travel alone. I am clean, respectful, non smoker, social drinker and generally a quiet person; my wife is the same, if not cleaner. My wife has allergies to pets of all kinds, especially horses, dogs and cats.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I have family members who have couch surfed and hosted other surfers. They have had really good experiences with the concept and I would like to explore it as well. It would be interesting to meet people my (our) age through this site.

Interests

My interests include higher education, cities, social justice, public spaces, iconic architecture, travel, nature places, walking, Turkish and Italian food. We would love to spend time in Spain and Portugal, and our favorite socially unjust city of Honolulu (lol). My wife is an amazing gardener and we love visiting places like the Buchart Gardens in Victoria, the Devonian Gardens and North Saskatchewan River Valley in the Edmonton area, the Calgary and Winnipeg River Valley Park systems, the Niagara Parks Commission in Niagara Falls and the Capital Commission lands in Ottawa. I am a sports fanatic (hockey, baseball, football, basketball); my wife not so much. We both read alot, are early risers and love to walk to explore cities, public spaces and natural areas. My wife loves crossword puzzles and gardening.

• pets
• cats
• dogs
• horses
• culture
• architecture
• design
• education
• dining
• italian food
• walking
• gardening
• traveling
• socializing
• puzzles
• sports
• baseball
• basketball
• soccer
• hockey
• economics
• teaching
• beaches
• parks

Music, Movies, and Books

I like action movies like James Bond movies, lawyer shows and movies, medical shows and movies, and country music.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Besides marrying an awesome lady, our (adult) children are the most special parts of our life together. In April of 2015 we visited Istanbul, Barcelona, Rome and Amsterdam for the trip of our lifetime. Istanbul was crazy and amazing; the mosques and markets were unreal, and in Barcelona we were blown away by the beaches and the La Sagrada Famillia. The first part of the trip was shared with my daughter in Istanbul where she lives, and my son from Edmonton, both with their significant others. Traveling with my peeps is the best thing ever! We especially loved the Turkish food, and gelato in Italy. We could move to Barcelona tomorrow...

Teach, Learn, Share

Life is a journey...I can share mine. I went to school, had a successful career as an urban parks planner, and returned to school as a "mature" student at the age of 57 to further explore my field. I am an illegitimate child of neoliberalism who over time chafed at how economics, and not people, mattered to political decision makers in public space acquisition, design and operation. I am interested generally in hearing the life journeys of others, particularly those of other cultures, people of different gender identities, people of different political perspective (left, right, collectivist, etc). I can share my journey in preparing a PhD dissertation (thus far), and would like to similar stories from similarly confused researchers (lol).

What I Can Share with Hosts

Canadian culture, the trials and tribulations of aging "not in place", political discussions. I can share my experiences in urban governance, public space design, social justice, neoliberalism, hockey, higher education, and hip replacement surgery (lol).

Countries I’ve Visited

Italy, Netherlands, Spain, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada