Alice: Hi, I'm Alice! I grew up in the south of England, and left home at age 25 to ride my bicycle wherever it took me! I have spent over 2 years in the saddle, including in Morocco, Spain, France, Germany, Poland, Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, New Zealand, England and Scotland. During my travels I ended up settling down in Maine, USA and building a tiny cabin in the woods where I live now, homesteading. I have a simple life and spend a lot of time volunteering in my community! It's so beautiful here. While I'm not very active on CouchSurfing, I host cyclists from all over the world through the WarmShowers website. I haven't traveled for several years now (I REALLY love my home and community!), but I'm going to be visiting Iceland and Mexico this winter (2024/25) and also visiting family with my partner Jason.

Jason: I grew up in southern Maine and now live in the downeast region where I work as a handyman on Isle au Haut, a remote island which is a major attraction for excellent hiking at Acadia National Park. I enjoy my free time as an artist, painting landscapes plein air, sculpting, drawing, and printmaking. I also enjoy playing guitar, mandolin, fiddle, and singing. I built and moved into my tiny house on wheels 10 years ago and it was the best decision I made to rid myself of most of my possessions and enjoy a simple life.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Alice: It's so nice to meet locals and make connections around the world, to share experiences and also to get a different perspective on a place from those who live in & love their community, rather than just cross off items on a list of "places we've been/seen". I want to FEEL a place!

Jason: I have never couch surfed before, but I very much appreciate the community this fosters with kind and like minded people, making new friends, sharing stories, and living simply.

Interests

Alice: I love all sorts of "home-maker" arts and crafts. I spend a lot of time managing my land, mending broken clothes, fixing things, etc. I am also very social and love doing things with friends (playing music, craft circles, potlucks, work parties!). Most things are more fun in community! But my favorite thing in the world is contra dancing. It's a bit like square dancing but better, ha. I don't drink, so this is a great social and sober evening out!

Jason: My batteries get recharged by being out in nature. Painting landscapes has provided me that (along with the added benefit of a completed art piece) but I also enjoy hiking, motorcycling, canoeing, and camping. A fun change in activities has been learning contra dancing!

• singing
• sketching
• crafts
• board games
• painting
• homesteading
• music
• cycling
• hiking
• canoeing
• camping
• swimming
• art
• ukulele
• contra dancing
• natural building
• kirtan
• carpentry
• tiny homes

Music, Movies, and Books

Alice: I have been learning to sing recently! My partner and I like playing music and singing together. All sorts of stuff. Between us we play guitar, ukulele, mandolin, fiddle and harmonium!
Some favorite movies are Pulp Fiction, Knives Out, Fight Club, The Lion King!
I have a big library of reference books, so I mostly read to learn how to do something (growing food, building things, forestry, plant identification).

Jason: I've been playing celtic, American, Quebecois on fiddle and mandolin for several years, and I enjoy folk tunes on guitar. I've recently gained interested in Scandinavian folk music with a focus on the Hardingfele fiddle.
I like listening to classical, blues, grunge, indy, and jazz.
I like sci fi Philip K. Dick, Asimov, O.S. Card, Nesmin... and poetry recent interests M.S. Merwin, Mary Oliver, and Billy Collins.
Movies.. anything Criterion collection, Kirosawa, Tarkovsky, Svankmajer, Lynch

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Alice: Built my little cabin with my own hands :)

Jason: Built my own tiny house on wheels. Got rid of sooo much stuff.

Teach, Learn, Share

Alice: I'm good at fixing things (including computers) and I can teach basic ukulele!

Jason: I'm happy to share anything art or music related. I love painting/sketching and teaching all sorts of different techniques.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Alice: Smiles! Banter! Singing and music-ing together!

Jason: Stories from downeast Maine, music, art, and laughter

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Belgium, Belize, Canada, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, England, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Wales

Countries I’ve Lived In

England, United States

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