CURRENT MISSION

I recently did an activity on a training day and it turns out that my main aim in life is to Have Fun. It seems I'm a bit of a hedonist. But kind of a sensible hedonist who doesn't take too many silly risks.

ABOUT ME

I'm a teacher by day, and a slightly exhausted teacher by night. I work with young people with communication difficulties (diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders or undiagnosed), aged between 11 to 18, in mainstream primary and secondary schools. I teach all sorts of things - social skills, emotional literacy, coping with changes, transition from primary to secondary school, post-school transition etc...

I enjoy cooking yummy meals, baking celebration cakes, cupcakes etc, sewing, embroidery, watching TV (I binge watched all of season two of Orange is the New Black the day after it came out and now I have to wait a whole year for more), going to the movies, eating out with friends, drinking out with friends, eating in with friends, drinking in with friends, dancing out with friends, dancing in with friends, travelling (of course), singing in a community choir, Craftivism...

I travel every summer as I have a six to seven week summer break every year. In recent years I have visited the USA (right now), France, Colombia, Cuba, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Japan, India. Next year I hope to go to Brazil (the World Cup put an end to that plan for this year - I have no interest in football).

My friends and colleagues think I am funny, ditsy (not sure how I feel about that though?), crafty, practical, creative, caring and confident.

Except secretly I'm not confident. I'm actually a child in an adult's body pretending to be a grown up with a job and a mortgage.

PHILOSOPHY

I don't have a philosophy. I try to take things as they come. Mindfully. It's a new thing I'm trying. It's difficult, but I'm trying it for now.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I travel a lot. All summer, every summer. I registered with Couchsurfing a few years ago but I haven't used it yet. I am currently travelling in the USA and am finding it a little pricey for my budget, so I am pleased to be finally giving it a shot. I plan to meet lots of amazing, fun, entertaining, interesting people.

I live in Glasgow in Scotland and am more than happy to host people in my one bedroom Victorian tenement flat. I have a large living room with a really comfy pull-out sofa bed. You are very welcome to use it when I'm at home (which is most of the year).

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

While I have no official couchsurfing experience, I have had my share of Sleeping On The Couches Of Friends (And Strangers) While A Little Worse For Wear. In my twenties obvs. I'm far too sophisticated for that these days. These days I make it back to my flat before passing out.

Interests

I think I've pretty much covered my interests in other sections. Please refer back to them ;)

• singing
• dancing
• cooking
• baking
• instructor
• drinking
• movies
• tv
• traveling
• eating out
• scuba diving
• soccer
• swimming
• world cup
• teaching

Music, Movies, and Books

I like indie music, indie-rock, pop, country. As with most of the residents of the small indie scene of Glasgow, I like Belle and Sebastian, Camera Obscura, Teenage Fanclub, Orange Juice, OMD. We tend not to be that imaginative. We like twee music of the 80s, 90s and the present day. I like going to gigs. I LOVE Bruce Springsteen and Prince.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

The thing that took my breath away the most so far was seeing a whale shark while scuba diving in Thailand a few years ago. The instructor said there was a whale shark below us while we were still on the surface and we all thought he was taking the piss out of us, so we didn't look. He kept telling us to look and we kept saying Ýeah, right'. Until I eventually 'fell for it'' and looked. And there it was. Huge and majestic and beautiful. It stayed with us for the whole dive. Just swimming alongside us. Wow.

Teach, Learn, Share

Happy to share baking tips and embroidery stitches.

And if you ever want to learn about Asperger Syndrome, I'm your woman.