Outgoing, adventurous, creative, energetic.

I was born in Sri Lanka and lived in Germany and Toronto before setting out to explore the world. I teach because I care; I travel because I love the world and am in awe of its people and its natural beauty.

I love to challenge myself and consistently strive to be better and help those around me.
Traveling provides me with numerous challenges due to stepping outside of my comfort zone. This has led me to the many adventures I have come across along with CS which started out as an experiment and quickly has become a big part of my life.

I am filled with an endless amount of energy. This energy can be used to have conversations that last all through the night, towards exploring interesting territories, or be used up dancing or singing the night away! I love learning about cultures, history, and beliefs through those that have experienced it. Nothing beats a good personal story!

I've traveled to 31 countries (lived in 4).
Currently I live in Shanghai and exploring all that China has to offer!

PHILOSOPHY

You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Life is to be lived, so that when I part this world one day my heart will have no regrets.
Life is not worth living unless you contribute to mankind, and promote positive change around you to the best of your ability.

We all have a part to play because we are interlinked in this world wide web (no, NOT the internet!). So pay it forward in a selfless way and be an example for the future generations.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I have hosted:
Simon - China
Patrick - USA
Patrick & Mel - Canada, USA
Grayson - USA
Daniel - UK
Felix - Canada
Gareth & Kristin - South Africa
Lukas & Kevin - Germany
Deep - UK
Christian - Austria
Dan - USA
Devashis - USA
Cornel - Switzerland
Shanmugam - India
Sriram - USA
Eyal - USA
Frankel & Seth - USA
Clovis - France
Carlos - Spain
Antonio - Italy
Michael - Germany
Jamie & Christina - USA, New Zealand
Sarah & Jen - USA
Mattias - Switzerland
Sharon - USA
Bianka - Germany
Annika & Lisse - Estonia
Lee - Wales
Dani - Spain
Eric - USA
Turner - USA
Gio - Netherlands
Yoann - France
Jelle - Belgium
Zad - Singapore
Dev - USA
Eric - USA

I have surfed with:
Pablo - Busan, SK
Patrick - Donghae, SK
Matako - Kyoto, Japan
Julie - Busan, SK
Marina - Busan, SK
Ryan - Ko Phangan, Thailand
Sam - Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Ratna - Kuala Lampur, Malaysia
Raghu - Chennai, India
Ragu - Madurai, India
Ash - Banglore, India
Sebastien - Quebec City, Canada
Marco - Montreal, Canada
Ian - Hong Kong, China
Suraj - Macau, China
Akshay - Singapore
Gloria - Hualien, Taiwan
Antje - Taipei, Taiwan
Ali - Istanbul, Turkey
Atilla - Cappadocia, Turkey

I also try to attend meetings of any given city if I am there at the time.

So far I have attended:
Busan/Thailand meeting - May 2008
Taipei, Taiwan meeting - June 2008
3M madness slumber party@Donghae, SK - July 2008
CS New Years Eve 2008 in Beijing, China
Seoul meet - January 2009
Busan meet - September 2009
Free Hugs @ Busan - December 2009
Busan Wine Hunt - April 2010
CS Mudfest Camping @ Boryeong, SK - July 2010
Free Hugs @ Busan - August 2010
CS Dinner Meet @ Hanoi, Vietnam - December 2010

Since living in Busan I have also organized several meetings (dinner events and Free Hugs), and have been the moderator of the CS Busan group.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I began surfing in Korea in order to meet new and interesting people and my experience so far has been extremely awesome. When I first came across this idea I thought it was ingenious.. why did they not think of this sooner?! It's an amazing opportunity to meet like-minded individuals that enlighten and inspire you to do and learn more.
CS provides a prime example about the kindness of strangers which is a lesson that many of us have yet to endure.

So far I have travelled through almost all of Asia surfing with very cool people who have made my travels that much more interesting.

Interests

Movies, yoga, world music, education, cartoons, novels, volunteering, social media, visual art, photography, learning, dancing, exploring, sometimes sleeping.

• arts
• culture
• singing
• photography
• beauty
• dancing
• education
• wine
• yoga
• partying
• cartoons
• movies
• traveling
• music
• world music
• camping
• surfing
• scuba diving
• rock climbing
• communications
• teaching
• history
• languages
• volunteering
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

follow me on Twitter where I comment frequently on this sorta stuff:
www.twitter.com/annjaimi

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

India! Beautiful, mystical India!

Climbing Chichen Itza in Mexico.

Snorkelling in the coral reef was fantastic and parasailing over it was quite the experience (since I have a fear of heights!).

Travelling Australia was also a dream come true, yet I still want to go back and see more.

Living in a small town in England cut off from the rest of the world made me really appreciate real British culture and the simplicity of life.

Being in Korea so far have been the most intense culture clash I have endured and it has really put things into perspective.

Climbing the great wall in China. It was an intense and surreal feeling.

Learning to scuba dive was a real challenge. Now I know what it is like to float like an astronaut.

Travelling as a solo, Tamil female is a life-changing experience. You finally realize you are brown.

Finally going back to my motherland - Sri Lanka, was an experience I had been waiting 25 years for.. I finally feel like the missing puzzle piece has been found.

Enduring the horrendous night buses in Vietnam, scoot scooting around Taiwan and camping in the Toroko gorge, lazing on deserted beaches and staring at the infinite night sky in the Gili Islands ~ all experiences that have shaped me into who I am and inspire me to travel and do so much more!

Teach, Learn, Share

I'm a teacher by nature, so I can teach you about many things. Especially Tamil (one of the oldest languages) and basic Korean.

I can also recommend many great novels and movies, and share stories from my own adventures.

I want to learn about EVERYTHING (sort of be a jack of all trades type of gal).. so if you are good at anything at all, I want to know about it.

What I Can Share with Hosts

A great home cooked Tamil meal (if the spices permit), awesome travel stories, teach you basic Tamil phrases and how to write in Tamil, basic English phrases, simple words in Mandarin to help survive in China, great company!

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Cambodia, China, Cuba, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Myanmar, Netherlands, North Korea, Northern Ireland, Philippines, Scotland, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United States, Vatican City State, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, Canada, China, Germany, South Korea, United Kingdom

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