ABOUT ME

I believe that a trip to foreign lands does not have much meaning unless I spend some time getting to know the people there and their way of living. It's not just about snapping pictures of landmark places and sampling cuisines, it's about experiencing the country and her people. So, yes! Hoping to meet others who share the same mindset as I do. (:

ABOUT US

Met Sam J Fishlock at a church in Singapore in Jan 2016, and got married in July 2017! We moved to the friendly, beautiful city of Belfast soon after.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

My family has hosted people before. Personally, I've never hosted anyone, though I have met up with a few couchseekers (whom I unfortunately could not host) for a cup of tea/coffee.

But Sam & I do hope to host in the future! (: Unfortunately, we're living in a rented flat at the moment and the contract doesn't allow us to have many people over (not that we have much space as well). We're hoping to get our own place soon, and start hosting proper! Meanwhile, we just couchsurf and meet up with people.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

While studying for my degree in the UK (3 years), had travelled around UK a fair bit, couchsurfing quite often.

After that, lived in Singapore and Malaysia while working in law (corporate and human rights), during which I unfortunately had no time to travel or host. Belfast offers a much slower and relaxed pace of life, and I'm aiming to be more active on this website once more. :)

Interests

Sam & I have a wide variety of interest, and whilst we love travelling, we'll like to chat about other interests and issues too. :)

• animals
• arts
• culture
• illustrations
• cooking
• recipes
• coffee
• yoga
• running
• athlete
• drinking
• politics
• technology
• traveling
• drawing
• music
• guitar
• cycling
• hiking
• scuba diving
• trail running
• christian
• swimming
• badminton
• business
• economics
• religion
• science
• volunteering
• behavioral economics

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies - Forest Gump, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Prestige, Moonlight, Dunkirk, etc.

Books - oh wow, I can go on and on and on. (Note: PLS SKIP THIS SECTION If you’ve little or no interest in my reading list) >< here’s my list of the 10 books that have stayed with me so far, and a few quotes I jotted down while reading them (some of you may recognise this was from a fb challenge).

1. The Story of My Experiments with Truth - M.K. Gandhi: 'But God came to the rescue as before. My intentions were pure, and so I was saved in spite of my mistakes..' // 'Such service can have no meaning unless one takes pleasure in it. When it is done for show or for fear of public option, it stuns man and crushes his spirit. Service which is rendered without joy helps neither the servant nor the served. But all other pleasures and possessions pale into nothingness before service which is rendered in a spirit of joy.'

2. The Downing Street Years - Margaret Thatcher: So many great quotes, but one of my favs - When asked, how does it feel to be a woman PM: ‘I don’t know, I’ve never experienced the alternative’. ><

3. Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation If China - Ezra F. Vogel: Am halfway through the book!

4. Who Took My Cheese - Dr Spencer Johnson: 'What Would You Do If You Weren’t Afraid?'

5. Have a Little Faith - Mitch Albom: 'You should be convinced of the authenticity of what you have, but you must also be humble enough to say that you don’t know everything. And since we don’t know everything, we must accept that another person may believe something else.' // A man buried his wife. At the gravesite he stood by the Reb, tears falling down his face.
“I love her,” he whispered.
The Reb nodded.
“I mean… I really loved her.”
The man broke down.
“And… I almost told her once.”
The Reb looked at me sadly.
Nothing haunts like the things we don’t say.

6. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini: 'To this day, I find it hard to gaze directly at people like Hassan, people who mean every word they say. And that’s the thing about people who mean everything they say. They think everyone else does too.' // 'For you, a thousand times over.'

7. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens: 'Throughout our life, our worst weakness and meannesses are usually committed for the sake of people whom we most despise.'

8. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee: The whole book, people, the whole book. nods*

9. One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest - Ken Kesey: 'There is generally one person in every situation you must never underestimate the power of.'

10. Howl’s Moving Castle - Dianna Wynne Jones
- My favourite book from childhood/pre-teen years. I’ve all but memorised the quotes now after reading it so many times: // The funny:
- “I feel ill,” he announced. “I’m going to bed, where I may die.” He tottered piteously to the stairs. “Bury me beside Mrs. Pentstemmon,” he croaked as he went up then to bed.” …
- “Really, these wizards! You'd think no one had ever had a cold before! Well, what is it?" she asked, hobbling through the bedroom door onto the filthy carpet.
"I'm dying of boredom," Howl said pathetically. "Or maybe just dying.”
// The (perhaps ever so slightly more) meaningful:
- 'That's why I love spiders. 'If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again.'
- 'I think we ought to live happily ever after.'

And if I could list them, books by Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, and Enid Blyton’s schools series, E. Nesbit, and Road Dahl’s short stories. (:

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

AUDREY:

Pick one!

Saw the Aurora Borealis in Iceland...

Ate fried silkworms in China. The restaurants served other weird stuff too but my friends didn't order them (thankfully!)..

Also went on this roller-coaster ride in China which name basically translates to '10-loops' so.. yes, went on this coaster with 10 consecutive loops. Twice. (:

Snowboarded. :))) (Got tricked into doing it actually, but Gosh no regrets.)

Camped in Scotland for a week - no running water or electricity, but it was so far the most amazing trip ever - sleeping underneath the stars and waking up to beautiful sunrise, bathing in natural mountain streams, drinking whisky and singing songs.. yes, that's the life! (: (:

Another living-in-the-wild-ish experience came from a volunteering stint: I was living in an aboriginal peoples' (Christian) village in West Malaysia for a week, tasked with building toilets. >< It was a humbling, educational, and unforgettable experience. (:

and I've experienced a few supernatural incidents during my travels.....

SAM:

Well, he has a PhD in the study of ‘nanocrystalline graphite for MEMS and membranes’ (which he did in part in Singapore, Malaysia, and England (Southampton)).

Okay, there's something more exciting. So, he cycled to Italy from England with his mate, Will, when they were 18. (This is also the amazing thing he wanted to share, rather than the PhD. Sam probably won't read this. So I'm all good here.)

He’s also snowboarded, and travelled more widely than I have. He’s not much of a writer but he *is* nice to chat to. :) Promise.

Teach, Learn, Share

I was a paid athlete for a few years, so, I do know a few good tips when it comes to building muscles and losing weight. And I know a thing or two about massages too.

We can cook.

I can draw and do illustrations... (: Have a wall you want painted/stuff drawn on?

Sam's a pretty good guitarist, and I'm getting lessons from him.

What I Can Share with Hosts

More than anything, we want to hear about your life and travel experiences, and know more about your city and culture. (: We're happy to share ours too, of course!

P.S. We're also Christians, who are open to hear your experience with religion. We really do just hope people will be at ease to chat with us about practically anything. And if you feel you'll like some prayers, we'll be honoured to pray for you. :) <3

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, China, England, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Philippines, Scotland, Singapore, Thailand, Wales

Countries I’ve Lived In

England, Malaysia, Northern Ireland, Singapore