Hi my name's Alizee and I'm from the Turks and Caicos Islands (just South East of the Bahamas). I've travelled extensively and love the thrill of discovering a new place, be it in the same city/country or on the other side of the world. My education is in literature and philosophy but I've worked in jobs across the field from tourism and hospitality to language teaching and dive instructing. Most recently I've been making a go of it as a freelance translator (French-English) and Illustrator (www.tradewindcolours.com). I also run a travel website for a local travel agency in the Turks and Caicos but we are branching out to try and create a global travel community (www.mymarcotravel.com)

Fun facts: I could swim before I could walk and have an unhealthy love of street-food...

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I love the idea of meeting people and getting to know a place with the help of someone who lives there and would myself be thrilled to show someone around if they came to visit me. Above all, I like the idea of a global travellers network and getting a more authentic experience in the places I visit.

Interests

I have varied interests but I love photography and videography and have worked as a videographer on a liveaboard diveboat where I had the good fortune to film humpback whales in their natural habitats. I also love photography which is playing an increasingly important role in my work as I build my travel writing/photography portfolio (www.tradewindcolours.com) .

Coming from a country with the world's third largest barrier reef and very little else, the ocean has always been one of my greatest passions. I love diving and have rencently been focusing my illustration work on the underwater world in an attempt to bring focus to the need for maritime conservation.

Perhaps above all I love music and food. Good music and good food are often the thing I remember most about a place! :) I love to cook, especially chinese/vietnamese dishes which I picked up while living over there for almost 3 years.

• writing
• literature
• photography
• illustrations
• education
• dining
• cooking
• running
• traveling
• socializing
• music
• scuba diving
• swimming
• animation
• teaching
• freelancing
• languages
• tourism

Music, Movies, and Books

So many to choose from... I'd love to chat about it in person :)

But music wise I'm very eclectic - I love jazz and old rock (soft spot for Pink Floyd and The Doors especially) but I also love island music like reggae and soca which I grew up with. I'm happy jumping around at ska festivals or headbanging to Mongolian Folk Metal (seriously, went to a Nine Treasures gig in Amsterdam and they were awesome :) )

Movies - again I wouldn't know where to start... growing up we didn't have a cinema and were quite limited when it came to television so it's hard to say but I do enjoy watching films and again am always up for new discoveries.

Books are most certainly a passion of mine and I could talk for hours about the wonders of the written word. I wrote my Master's dissertation on Hunter S. Thompson and love what came out of the beatnik / new journalism era. Travel literature is perhaps the genre I read the most with authors such as Patrick Leigh Fermor and William Dalrymple being big influences on my own writing.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I guess if I had to choose one in recent times it would be the 2 months I spent on the Silver Banks swimming with, showing people and videotaping humpback whales, they really are magnificent creatures.

Teach, Learn, Share

We never stop learning in life and I'm always looking to share experiences and knowledge and learn from others.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Stories of adventures from around the world. Cooking - I love cooking different food, and 'exploring' the world through flavours.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Germany, India, Italy, Laos, Mexico, Morocco, Nepal, Portugal, Romania, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

China, England, France, Netherlands, Scotland, Spain, Turks and Caicos Islands, Viet Nam