“A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely" (Roald Dahl).
I endeavour to emulate this sort of beauty, and love seeing it in other people!

I have a great love for the simple things in life, e.g. good company/conversation, and a nice meal/wine/coffee. However I'm open to a bit of adventure too!

I yearn for and hold onto unprecedented experiences, as well as moments that make me look at something in a new way. It's always wonderful to gain more insight, and I'm always extremely appreciative of those who lead me to this.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Too much of a good thing is not a plausible concept in my mind - and what couchsurfing facilitates - the sharing of cultures and unity of good hearted, like minded people - is nothing short of wonderful!

So I would like to use couchsurfing to meet great people, and share something with them.

Interests

-Eating seafood with a view of the water
-Listening to Brazilians try to pronounce the word 'squirrel'
-Black ice ensued hilarity
-Receiving the strangest of postcards (there is a story behind this)
-Hearing Aussies say Chardonnay without sounding the 'h'
-Getting off a plane in a new place and feeling the change of air
-Visiting places that stop you in your tracks
-Making friends with people who end up playing a much much more immense and important role in my life (and hopefully vise-versa) than imaginable.

• writing
• books
• dining
• wine
• coffee
• drinking
• movies
• chess
• history
• languages
• logic
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

I love films, and could drone on about them forever. However as this is a Couchsurfing page, I'll stick to one film made by or set in each country. If my choice for your country makes you cringe, please don't hate, just educate!

Afghanistan - The Kite Runner
Algeria - Outside the law
Argentina - Nine Queens
Australia - Swimming Upstream
Austria - Funny Games
Belgium - The Broken Circle Breakdown
Brasil - The Motorcycle Diaries
Bulgaria - Black Cat White Cat (Made alongside Serbia, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Canada - Incendies
Chile - Holy Mountain
Colombia - Maria Full of Grace
Denmark - Dogville
England - Locke
Estonia - The Singing Revolution
France - Intouchables
Germany - The Lives of Others
Greece - Dogtooth
India - Monsoon Wedding
Iran - The Circle
Ireland - The Wind That Shakes the Barley
Israel - Lemon Tree
Italy - Life is Beautiful
Japan - Tokyo Story
Liechtenstein - The Mouse That Roared
Mexico - Y Tu Mamá También
Morocco - Casablanca
New Zealand - Black Sheep
Northern Ireland - Hunger
Rwanda - Hotel Rwanda
Scotland - Trainspotting
South Africa - The Power of One
Spain - Pan's Labyrinth
Sweden - The Seventh Seal
Turkey - The Edge of Heaven
USA - August: Osage County/A single man

Some music I like:

Arcade Fire
Beirut
DeVotchka
Sufjan Stevens
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Lykke Li (live on the moon especially)
The Veils
and much, much more...
(I emitted lots of the classics, because the list would be long, but they are much loved).

Books: my favourite book genre is magical realism, so anything by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Isabel Allende, Salman Rushdie, among others.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I jumped out of a helicopter in Switzerland once - that was fun! The cows in the paddock tilted their heads in a confused manner as they watched me land.

I also went to Cairo a few days before the largest protest in the history of the world took place there. I was staying four blocks away from the square where it happened with a view of everything. Then the country went into military control. That was an interesting time...

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach:
-Firetwirling
-Screenwriting
-Languages

I would love to learn:
-to play the harmonica

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Macedonia, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, Brazil, Germany