CURRENT MISSION

I love Santa Cruz, San Francisco, & traveling- share the love.

ABOUT ME

Hi everyone, I took my name off my profile, since you have gotten this far, I am James Tobiassen. Travel is my passion. I enjoy meeting all kinds of people and learning about travel and sharing traveling experiences. I'm a pretty easy going guy and tend to go with the flow. I'm always up for trying and experience new things.
I am married to a Filipina, we live on a boat part of the time and stay with relatives and friends when we host to give the boat to our surfers. I am a marriage counselor, currently only doing volunteer work, on and off. My favorite thing in life is boggie boarding off waikiki, or similar spot. I used to stay in hostels, before couch surfing, when I traveled alone and have met alot of interesting people that way. My wife is currently not working and we are doing more traveling together.

PHILOSOPHY

I'm very accepting and open minded. I've tasted alot of life, good and bad. I am looking to grow as a person. I've been known to be very caring and protective and willing to help my friends. My goal in life is to be as genuine as possible.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

We currently are very busy summer of 2012 as we have family and friends from out of state and other countries that we are showing around, some hosting of CSer that have hosted us. And some little trips nearby. We are still hosting but we are not offering the best experience that CSing has to offer, ie the hanging out, giving tours, having meals together (the house we sometimes use is full of kids and others this summer). We may get our surfers over for a meal when the house is empty. Otherwise, pick up to and from our boat is limited- your surfers are walking more. When we go into the city, we offer to do a 2-3 hour driving tours to visitors and new residents. I have also met travelers at SFO, who have rented a car and given them tours of the city and I take the train home if they are not staying on my boat or they want to stay out late. We like to assist travelers. See couch info.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I was introduced to CSing by accident, I was on my way to Guam and was flying standby and got way ahead of schedule, my wife had commercial ticket into Manila and I was meeting her there. I bought a commercial to Manila(round trip $370 via Japan), in and out of Guam for free. I went on craigslist and contacted all ads for property rent/sale and looked for a place to stay for 2 weeks in exchange for painting, cleaning, etc. I stayed with Paul in Guam, it was a great experience. He asked me to join CSing and give him a reference, I paid for verification as a gift to him. Since then I have hosted people, given tours, and surfed around the world.

Interests

Books, animals, exercise, classic rock music, artificial intelligence, Lady Gaga, and delicious food. Sailing. TV shows: VH1 Sex rehab, Celeb Rehab, CBS Amazing Race, Surivor, Big Brother, MTV Real world/ Challange, Cops

• animals
• books
• dining
• exercise
• walking
• flying
• boating
• tv
• traveling
• volunteer work
• painting
• music
• rock music
• surfing
• sailing
• engineering
• history
• law
• social work
• volunteering
• tours

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies- Yes, action, drama, comedy, docs.
All kinds of music, especially classic rock
Books, travel guides, history, professional journals, classics.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Army medic/ Officer, Psychiatric social worker, ER crisis worker, Child Protective Service- Family reunification, Drug counselor- program manager, Prison psychiatric ward, Marriage counselor.
Sailing in a 28 ft boat between Maui and Lania in 8 ft sweels with sails full in the wind and fouled rigging. I have riden a freight train from Texas to CA with my little brother, many years ago.

Teach, Learn, Share

I know the history of SF, Bay area and California and enjoy sharing it. I believe every person has something to teach me, I am open to learning from everyone. I am the father of 24 year old college engineering student.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Belize, Canada, China, El Salvador, Fiji, Germany, Guam, Guatemala, Italy, Japan, Philippines, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Mexico, United States

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