I was introduced to adventure at an early age and I have not stopped since! When I was eight my family and I travelled by train from Oxford to Peking. From there we flew to Hong Kong and on to Australia, where we bought an old VW van and travelled the east coast before flying to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea which became our home for the next three years.
I did an undergraduate degree in Biology and found that, by offering my services as a field researcher, I could travel to some amazing places (e.g. swiftlet caves in Borneo, remotest island in the UK, coral reefs to look for seahorses, across Europe gathering oak galls, etc).
With the other half of my brain, I am a musician - I studied the recorder and early music at McGill University, play the piano for the local church, and do some teaching. I play lots of other instruments (none of them very well, but I enjoy trying).
Currently I live in a very beautiful part the Green Mountains of Vermont. I teach at the local elementary school, am a long-time member/secretary of the town Conservation Commission and Trails Committee.
I am blessed with two wonderful children. My daughter is currently taking a gap year to travel the world before going to college, and my son is exploring ideas for colleges, but also wants to travel before that.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I love travelling and exploring new places, new cultures, hiking in different environments and getting to know the world. I have received warm welcomes and wonderful hospitality in many parts of the world. I would like to offer the same to other travellers. I know what it is like to be on a budget, I also know how much more meaningful travel can be when you spend time with locals and really get to know a place.

Interests

My happy place is outside! I love to explore and go on adventures, and commune deeply with nature. I love listening to the birds, enjoying the breeze, taking in the smells, feeling the wet mud beneath my bare feet. I love hiking, camping, canoeing, biking, swimming, scuba diving etc. I also love playing music with other people.

• painting
• classical music
• hiking
• canoeing
• camping
• skiing
• swimming
• teaching
• nature
• adventure
• biking
• learning new things
• diving
• exploring
• meeting new people
• cross-country skiing
• baroque music
• nature conservation

Music, Movies, and Books

Classical, baroque, renaissance instrumental music also Irish/Cape Breton fiddle music
Books I enjoy include biographies, adventure stories, field guides
Some recent movies: My Octopus Teacher, The Durrells, Planet of the Humans

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Only one?!

Teach, Learn, Share

Home cooked food, time to get to know each other, good places to go hiking, music . . . and more detail about seahorse taxonomy than you could ever want!

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, China, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Israel, Malaysia, Montenegro, Norway, Philippines, Portugal, Switzerland, Thailand

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, Canada, England, Indonesia, Italy, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, United States