I am a 21 year old New Zealander passionate about mathematics, education, tennis, frisbee and travel. I am currently taking a break from full time study, partly because I want a breather, but mostly because I want to see the world, and travel, and think, and many other good things alike. I have every intention of starting my PhD in education in the next 12 months but for the time being am very excited about the break.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

During the break I hope to travel, learn and experience things I haven't had the chance to in recent years. Having recently graduated am I not far removed from the student budget =( Whilst I'm not currently in a position to reciprocate any accommodation favours I receive, I have every intention of creating such a position in the coming years. At this stage, I must be honest, I am on Couchsurfing with the intention of finding cheap accommodation for my upcoming backpacking trip.

Interests

I am a passionate ultimate frisbee player, having represented New Zealand in 2015 at the U24 world championships. However, one earlier sporting love was tennis. I was the second ranked new zealand junior a few years back and am still an active coach and player (on the odd occassion). More significant to me than my sporting interests are my academic passions. I have been in love with mathematics from the age of two and have just completed my honours degree in mathematics and education. More recently, I have been pursuing a career in education academic. There are few things more exciting to me than helping others see the beauty of mathematics

• beauty
• education
• cooking
• coach
• politics
• traveling
• backpacking
• tennis
• teaching
• history
• mathematics

Music, Movies, and Books

Having been a keen guitarist in my teens my favourite musician is Tommy Emmanuel, an Australian fingerstylist. I also love me some Simon and Garfunkel, Beatles, James Taylor etc. I should also confess a recent guilty pleasure in Troye Sivan.

Never been a massive movies guy, but Schlinder's list is a very powerful piece of work. Lord of the Rings is also hard to go past, even as someone who really isn't into on screen violence etc (i guess I'm more of a kiwi than I like to admit).

Also never been a big reader, but I recently an book by Oliver Sacks, "Seeing Voices" about the evolution of education for the deaf community. Did you know that it is not cognitive function, but muscular function (simply using your tongue) that hinder's early childhood language. Some kids born deaf to deaf parents can be fluent, both in grammar and vocab, in Sign by the age of 3.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Representing New Zealand at the U24 Ultimate World Championships was a pretty special experience. The ultimate frisbee community is unbelievable. Even at the elite level, the community, the respect and the love of the game are the most important things. We performed better than any New Zealand men's team in history, and I got to share the experience with family and friends living in London.

What I Can Share with Hosts

On a pragmatic level, not a lot. I can share a passion for life, for conversation and debate, for politics. I'm more than happy to help with the cooking and dishes, but beyond that I'm not sure what to put here =) sorry

Countries I’ve Visited

Cook Islands, England, Fiji, France, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, United Kingdom, United States, Vanuatu

Countries I’ve Lived In

New Zealand, United Kingdom