ABOUT ME

Did things backwards. Worked as soon as I got out of high school in the film industry for two years. Then, got fed up, rebuilt a sailboat, and took off for a year to sail down the east coast to the Bahamas. When I came back to Canada I wound up in Montreal, where I was engulfed in the naval-gazing world of higher education. Completed a BFA in obscure art forms (performance, video, electronic) that I sometimes still practice (when I have studio space/time). Then I entered back into the real world, where I've worked for art galleries and museums since, dealing mainly with historical artifacts and exhibition design.

Lived in a small town in Ontario (Sarnia) for 4 years which meant I spent my weekends exploring Detroit, a city and people like no other (the bad press is unwarranted). Now I'm living in Hamilton, Canada's "Steeltown" and working for the civic museums here. In my free time I volunteer as a mentor/tutor for an after-school program with awesome kids, teach English to Canadian newcomers and build furniture.

My next big project: to open a window gallery for contemporary art exhibitions within abandoned storefront spaces along commercial strips in Hamilton.

My instagram, for reference: @korzenstein

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I really love meeting new people and I've been lucky to meet folks on this platform over the last few years that have become great friends outside of travel, some have changed my life. It's helped me become less less shy / more open. Even though AirBnb has become a pretty affordable option, I still prefer to travel slow and make connections with strangers. I'm hoping to buy a house in the near future so that I can finally begin hosting and give back after all great couch karma experience.

As I mentioned, I'm unable to host (our place is one big loft with no privacy) but I'm available to meet up for coffee anytime. I'd love to show folks around and relay what I think makes Hamilton so special. This is the "City of Waterfalls" and there's a wealth of outdoor hikes within minutes from downtown

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

For practical reasons, I've spent a lot of time traveling Canada and the United States, which are beautiful, vast countries that encompass hundreds of cultures and regions that really are their own world.

Extensive CS travel experience, which my reference page does a great job of detailing. But in summary...

December 2018: New Orleans, LA - Fort Lauderdale, FL
September 2018: Guelph, Ontario
July + August 2018: Road trip across the USA that included Iowa City, Iowa - Davis, California - Laramie, Wyoming - Rapid City, South Dakota - Berkeley, California
October 2017: Boulder, Colorado
December 2011: Southern California
August 2011: Eastern Maine and Rural Quebec
July 2011: Atlanta, Georgia
December 2010: Orlando, Florida - Key West, Florida
November 2010: New York City

Interests

Road trips. I couldn't live without my car. I love getting out and seeing the Ontario countryside, or heading out to random towns for the day.

Biking. Because driving in the city is such a shame come the warmer months (pretty much anything over 5C/40F here in Canada).

Hiking. There are hundreds of km of trails and paths to be experienced in the region, mostly built around the wonderful escarpment that snakes around.

And the obvious...film, movies, boats, art, sleeping, consuming obscene quantities of food, getting lost, getting found, smelling things.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Sailing to Bahamas... highly coveted stories available upon meeting.
Surviving 33 Canadian winters... and counting.
Once saw a Sasquatch, but what Canadian hasn't, really.

Teach, Learn, Share

Travel stories. How to make hotdogs and beans a gourmet experience. Knowledge of art history and visual interpretations. Tacking and Gybing! The basic French-English hybrid I'm really good at speaking, sometimes referred to as 'Franglish.' Secret spots in the city no one knows about.

What I Can Share with Hosts

High-quality conversations
Slight-of-hand tricks
Art speak
Dad jokes

Countries I’ve Visited

Bahamas, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Monaco, Netherlands, Spain, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada

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