Hello - I'm Alan. I'm Anglo-French (or Franco-English?), grew up bilingual and have spent most of my life in my hometown of Skipton, North Yorkshire. For most of my twenties I've followed a pattern of alternating work and travel, and it's worked out pretty well so far! In April 2023 I'm starting new work as a tour guide which will finally give me the chance to blend my main interests with my work.

My main interest is languages, and I'm always keen to practice and improve the languages I already speak, or learn new ones. I'm fluent in English, French and German, comfortable in Italian, can get by in Spanish, and have some competence in Russian, Polish, Mandarin Chinese, Korean and Portuguese, though most of these are very rusty!

I love meeting new people and learning about other cultures and outlooks. I'm particularly fond of food - I rarely, if ever, come across anything I don't like and I'm always keen to try local dishes. I'm also happy to cook with or for my guests, especially if I get to learn new recipes (though I can't promise Michelin star quality!)

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

My very favourite part of travel is meeting people and having spontaneous experiences that couldn't be predicted, and by all laws of probability shouldn't have even happened!

In the summer of 2018 I travelled around Europe, especially Italy, with a mixture of WorkAway and CouchSurfing. It was a great experience, so the following year I did the same in Korea and Japan. After a couple of years bunkered down in Berlin during the pandemic, I'm taking my first trip across the Atlantic to Mexico and keen to meet new people!

Interests

• poetry
• folklore
• wine
• beer
• history
• languages
• food
• nature

Music, Movies, and Books

I'm something of a cultural omnivore - I have a few favourite movies, books and songs but I don't think there's much of a pattern...

Basically, I tend to like a bit of everything! I tend to listen to audiobooks, especially when traveling, and usually alternate between fiction and non-fiction. I'm super interested in history so historical fiction is a great genre for me. James Clavel's Shogun and Kim Stanley Robinson's The Years of Rice and Salt are two of my favourites!

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I studied in Tianjin, China for a year and had some amazing experiences like feeding pandas and climbing Huashan mountain.

Most recently scuba diving off Cozumel in Mexico was an incredible experience!

Teach, Learn, Share

Always keen to practice any of my languages and learn new ones! In general I'm interested in a wide range of topics and since I'm training to be a tour guide I'm always keen to learn or share interesting facts about history, geography and world cultures.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Stories and conversation. I can teach/practice any of the languages I speak with my hosts if they like.

Plus I can cook a little bit, and I'm more than happy to help out around the house to earn my keep!

Countries I’ve Visited

China, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russian Federation, South Africa, South Korea, Tunisia

Countries I’ve Lived In

China, Germany, United Kingdom