Hi! My name's Aidan, I'm a 22 year-old Journalism graduate currently living in a basement in Sheffield, England. It's a little bit cold, but you get used to it (the basement, not Sheffield).

I spent five years living in the Costa Blanca, Spain when I was younger, so travelling from country to country is normal for me. Now that university is over and I'm self-employed, I'm hoping to take advantage of this freedom to add a few more stamps to the passport; write journalism reports in foreign countries; and take a lot of good memories home.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I'm trying to become a freelance reporter and one of the options I'm interested in is travel writing - so you can tell why I'm signing up to Couchsurfing!

It's early days and any income I make will be small, so I'm hoping to save as much money as possible for now. As a result, if I could stay on someone's couch for the time-being that would make my ambitions possible. I'll be happy to do the washing up and buy the beers in return ;)

Interests

I'll challenge anyone to a game of pool, but if they're quite good then I'll probably lose.

I constantly read the news and like to discuss current affairs and politics. I'm a liberal-minded person, but I can talk to anyone no matter what their views are.

I always like to meet people who know a lot about movies and music, they're two subjects that never stop becoming interesting.

I like exploring new cities, although I always get lost within five minutes and never remember to bring a map.

I want to learn how to do photography (to help my journalism); speak Spanish (because I never learned it when I lived in Spain); and do martial arts (I have done Karate and Muay Thai in the past).

• arts
• culture
• writing
• photography
• beer
• running
• partying
• politics
• news
• movies
• traveling
• billiards
• socializing
• stamps
• music
• cycling
• martial arts
• freelancing
• journalism

Music, Movies, and Books

I prefer artists who use real instruments as opposed to electronic sounds, so I tend to like anything with guitars, drums and piano. I'd always pick Rock and Indie over Techno. I've always loved Alternative Rock (Linkin Park, Greenday) since I was young, and I now listen to more 1970s/80s artists (The Who, Rolling Stones).

For books, I'm currently reading Irvine Welsh's 'Skagboys', the prequel to Trainspotting which became a major film. It's written in a thick Scottish accent, half the words are swearing and it's absolutely brilliant. I also like to read a lot of non-fiction, history books, especially military history.

As for movies: I couldn't narrow down a type of movie I like (it depends on the mood I'm in), but a few of my favourites include City of God; Rocky IV; The Patriot; Snowpiercer; Sweeney Todd (Johnny Depp version), Good Will Hunting; and Platoon. However, I spend more time watching trashy action movies, like everyone else :)

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I skied off the top of a mountain near the Alps. Just before I went down the black run I saw a sea of cloud covering Geneva, with Mont Blanc on the horizon. It's a sight you don't forget quickly.

I spent a month living in hostels in Krakow, meeting countless new people and failing to speak Polish properly every single day.

I cycled 300km in three days from Calais to central France. My dad, step-mum and me used to go on long distance cycling holidays every year - this journey was just to reach the destination!

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach you how to play Blackjack Basic strategy (I was bored after university and wanted to learn something new).

I can show you how to write in Shorthand (a reporter's way of taking notes that's a lot faster than normal writing).

I can teach you about English culture (moaning about weather, moaning about queues, moaning about moaning - we're simple people).

What I Can Share with Hosts

Alcohol! :)

I'll tell you the features/ stories I'm writing about your area, the places I've travelled before and the plans I have for the future. I'm happy to go partying most nights and to relax the rest. I'm very easy-going, I just go with the flow.

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, England, France, Greece, Italy, Macedonia, Poland, Spain, Switzerland

Countries I’ve Lived In

England, Spain