I’m not accepting guest at the moment, I’m preparing to move and won’t have a house anymore. See you in Lille soon !

And now, here is the beginning of the story...

I grew up in the forest, dreaming about becoming a pirate or an astronaut. Wandering, cycling, climbing trees, building tree houses, reading, dreaming, that was my childhood. It did not really change. I no longer live in the forest, but still in some kind of jungle. Lille became my beloved city, Manchester my mistress. I have left behind my sailing vocation, whether on sea or in space. The Earth is wide enough for a lifetime adventure. I am a wanderer, sometimes on foot, sometimes on the bike. I no longer build tree houses, but I will build my earth-ship at the top of the mountain one day.

My fondness for books and fantasy led me to Classics literature studies. The urge to travel led me to English Cultures studies. I am now graduated in both, and thanks to that I discovered myself a taste for learning languages. I studied English, German, Latin, Ancient Greek, Sanskrit, Russian, Spanish, Italian, Japanese and I am not done with it.

I am now working in a school as a French teaching assistant, an opportunity I seized to test my wish to become a teacher, and to satisfy my need of novelty as well. I love being a teacher. I love working with children. I love to see that every one of them is brilliant in his own way. I love everything about learning, teaching and sharing.
I also volunteer in the Oxfam Bookshop of Chorlton every Friday afternoon, because... did I tell you already that I love books ? I also do that because of my concerns for nature and beings. And I take care of records sometimes.
That is something I haven’t mentioned yet : Music. I am in apprenticeship to become a DJ. Like most people, I love music.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

The best way to travel and visit a place is through the eyes of someone who knows it. That’s why I’m offering to host people and wish to meet people all over the world.

Interests

I spend my time trying to frame scenes of my life. I take photos, I write, I even tried to paint at one point. I try to heal myself. I try to seize the moment, to experience it as it is.

I've been a ballet dancer for 14 years and I miss it.

• arts
• writing
• poetry
• photography
• festivals
• chinese food
• indian food
• beer
• coffee
• yoga
• reading
• traveling
• painting
• music
• cycling
• hiking
• languages
• philosophy
• mountains
• food
• cinema
• nature
• mythology
• spirituality
• dance
• craft beer
• beers
• cooking and baking
• good beer
• drinking beer
• going to concerts

Music, Movies, and Books

My favorite song is « Long song for Zelda » by Dashiell Hedayat. The singer was an amazing writer and a crazy guy. The music is composed and played by Gong, one of my favorite band. I mostly listen to pop/psychedelic/progressive/kraut-/indie rock, but I also love classic music (due to my ballet’s years probably. My favorite classics music is Danse macabre by Camille Saint-Saëns), jazz (Rhapsody in blue by George Gershwin, one of my favorite music too. Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, I love you). I enjoy hip-hop and trip-hop thanks to Gorillaz (I had the single of Clint Eastwood that I used to listen a lot as a child), rap thanks to Oxmo Puccino (I discovered him 4 years ago thanks to an open-minded friend) and ambient, chill, trance music. I was really narrow-minded concerning music until not so long ago, which is why I don’t really know many artists in the second category of my music genres list. I am also really into experimental music, and for this reason, Pink Floyd was my favorite band for a very long time. My favorite instruments are the saxophone, the melodica, the bass guitar and the violin, even though I can’t play any of them apart from the bass...

My favorite movie is Dead Man by Jim Jarmusch. In my top 10, you would probably find Ghost Dog and Only lovers left alive by the same filmmaker. I also like the work of David Lynch (apart from Dune) and Alejandro Jodorowsky who is definitely the man I would like to meet before he dies (so please, don’t die). I have never watched the Holy Mountain though, but that is on my list of things to do urgently. One might think I’m a snobbish hobo-hipster person because of that triad (to which you can add Wes Anderson), but the truth is that I mostly watch blockbusters. I search for entertainment in cinema in the first place. Wayne’s World is probably in my top 10, see ? And don’t talk about actors with me. I barely know the name of the most famous ones.
I also watch animation films. I will just mention my favorites : Mononoke Hime (a strong and wild princess, adopted by wolves, I couldn’t resist), Gin-iro no kami no Agito (Origin, in short. An ode to nature), La Planète Sauvage (music by Alain Goraguer, perfect), Hair High (crazy) and... The Aristocats (that’s why I like jazz in the first place).
I began to watch series not so long ago. So far, I watched the IT-Crowd, The Mighty Boosh, Black Books, Doctor Who, Hannibal, Sherlock, Breaking Bad, My Name is Earl, The Regular Show, Twin Peaks, please stop me I’m losing so much time save me thank you.

I could talk about literature for hours. So here is a list of the books that influenced me the most : Voyage au bout de la nuit by Celine, Der Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse, Do Androids dream of electric sheep ? by Philip K. Dick, Le Spleen de Paris by Charles Baudelaire, Le Livre des morts-vivants by Dashiell Hedayat, The Town and the City by Jack Kerouac, The Old man and the sea by Ernest Hemingway, Medea by Euripides, Howl by Allen Ginsberg, Ask the dust by John Fante. But also Harry Potter and The Lord of the Ring. That’s basically why I did classics studies, the two authors being former classics students.

I like reading comics too. I read all the Asterix and Tintin. I really loved Black Sad and Transmetropolitan. I’m currently reading L’Incal by Jodorowsky (here he is again) and Moebius.

All in all, you’re right, I’m probably a snobbish hobo-hipster. And I’ll never stop learning.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I have hiked on one of the most dangerous volcano in the world (according to some people I don’t know)... Vulcano, in Sicily. Other volcanos I put my feet on : Etna, Vesuvius, Santorini, puy de la vache, puy de Lassolas, puy de Sancy (extinct), the Montañas del Fuego (on the moon) and others....
I also hiked out of the hiking trail in Corsica. That was really cool. But dangerous. And we got lost. Don’t do that.

Teach, Learn, Share

I would love to talk with you about culture in general and to discover new artists.

I can teach you French, Latin, Ancient greek and a bit of Sanskrit, and you can teach me your language or an other language you know. I’d love to improve my Russian, German, Spanish and Italian.

Among the things we could do together in Manchester are drinking coffees, teas or beers in nice places, eating Indian or Chinese food, going to gigs, cycling around the city (providing you have a bike), visiting museums, or going on a record shops mission.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can share vegetarian dishes and bakeries. Everything is home-made and organic. I can’t guaranty the quality though.
I can share a book.
I can share an ear.

I will keep the crap and get rid of what’s been good to me.

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, Czech Republic, England, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland, United States, Wales

Countries I’ve Lived In

England, France