Hello!

My name is Ben - a man with a beard of varying lengths. Ack, so where to begin?

- I did a degree in Persian, with a side order of Urdu, at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London - and alas I have mostly forgotten both!

- I'm a bit of a restless spirit - I went to two universities, tried to start a restaurant in London, ended up in marketing, taught myself how to code and now do that as a freelancer.

- London is my "base" as my family live nearby but, with a remote skillset in hand, I'm keen to head out in the world.

Perché sono iscritto su Couchsurfing

I'm a very independent person (I most recently spent 10 days in Paris by myself) and will happily look after myself - but what I always miss out on meeting new people, which is rather the point of travel!

So, I'm joining Couchsurfing to meet new people when I travel and hopefully be valuable part of the Couchsurfing community.

In addition, though I can't host in London, I'm really keen to meet up with people and show them some of the more out of the way spots - one of the joys of being freelance in London is that I spend a lot of time exploring the city!

Interessi

Reading - In the past couple of years I have really re-found my love of reading and I'm making headway through a hefty backlog of books! If you have any recommendations, do let me know.

Philosophy - I'm very much the dilettante here (being a dilettante is certainly a theme in my life...) but I've begun to explore different aspects of philosophy and I am very keen to be taught! The School of Life Channel on YouTube has been an amazing resource in giving a high-level summary of major philosophers.

Art - I'm a member of the Tate so I can usually found in the Tate Modern. I also take full advantage of being a freelancer to take in exhibitions in London - most recently (as of writing this...) I've been to the Delacroix at the National Gallery, Calder at the Tate Modern and Artist and Empire at the Tate Britain. I think one of my favourite galleries is the Palais de Tokyo as well. I'm always keen for a buddy to see different exhibitions/galleries, and I can show you some of the more out of the way ones in London (and get you into the Tate ones for free, winning!).

Museums - I'm a nerd. Serious nerd. I most recently to the National Maritime Museum - ships, engineering, what's not to love? I think my favourite small museum has to be the Kafka Museum in Prague, well worth a visit if you enjoy Kafka.

Dancing - I'm not very good but once the music starts, I'm there. I'm very un-British in that regard. I seem to have a *passable* rhythm. I also know a little bit of salsa - I dance it rather a small shaved gorilla though. I've been exploring clubbing a bit more in London (as you do in your late 20s... hmmmm...) and I'm always in need of a dance crew; most of my friends are in the "getting married, having kids" phase of their lives.

Red Wine and Craft Beer - I mean, what else needs to be said? Malbec and Merlot for the former, and if there are any Italians here, I once had a Birra del Borgia (sp) in London on a first date. I have since long forgotten the girl but, that beer, man, it changed my life... So it's a minor life side quest to find that beer again!

Exercise - I used to play a bit of rugby (when you see the width of my shoulders, it makes sense...) however I got a bad injury a few years ago. Happily I'm getting back into fitness again - I'm currently enjoying long-runs, interval training and bodyweight strength exercises, mixed in with a bit of yoga as well.

• arts
• writing
• books
• architecture
• dancing
• dining
• cooking
• recipes
• wine
• red wine
• beer
• vegetarian
• fitness
• exercise
• yoga
• running
• clubbing
• reading
• traveling
• coding
• music
• live music
• rugby
• engineering
• freelancing

Musica, film e libri

This could be a long section so I'll just do some highlights:

Music:
Recent saved songs on Spotify:
Army of One - Coldplay
Lipslap - Kero Kero Bonito
Butterly - Grimes
I'm in Control - AlunaGeorge

And I'm a huge fan of all things Disclosure and The Weeknd - you better believe I lost my mind at their collaboration.

Movies:
I don't watch very many films but I most recently saw 'Hail Caesar' (pretty good!) and the 'The Revenant' (yes it's long but ZOMG, what a film). My favourite documentary is Senna, an incredible film about the late Formula 1 driver. It requires zero-interest in F1 to enjoy it; it's a film about people, not machines, and it does it masterfully.

Books:
The most recent books I've read:
On the Shortness of Life - Seneca
The Iliad - Homer
Deep Work - Cal Newport
The Churchill Factor - Boris Johnson

And some highlights from last year:
Wherever You Go, There You Are - Jon Kabat-Zinn
The Outsider - Albert Camus
The Castle - Franz Kafka
Man's Search for Meaning - Dr Viktor Frankl

Una cosa incredibile che ho fatto

At uni, I worked with a couple of amazing people on organising a 15-person, 4-vehicle road-trip over six weeks from London to Timbuktu, Mali - and we succeeded, with all getting home safely!

This was back in 2009 and it was already getting rather unsafe - now the trip would be a stupid risk (at least with that visible a convoy!).

Mali remains one of my most favourite countries, though my short time in Burkina Faso (and a mad night out in Ouagadougou) runs a close second. Though I haven't been for ages, Bamako had some amazing live music bars, wonderful people and fascinating architecture.

Insegna, impara, condividi

The important stuff! I'm a big believer in skill-sharing so I hope I can be helpful here and learn some great new skills as well.

- Want to learn basic coding? I'll happily show your the ropes on HTML, CSS and some basic jQuery.

- If you know HTML, CSS and jQuery, I can show you how to make completely bespoke WordPress website as well.

- I'm a native English speaker so I'm very happy to help someone with their English - whether that means conversation, written practise, accent practise, whatever suits!

- I've forgotten most of Persian and Urdu but I still remember the script (I even got a gold star for my Persian handwriting...) so if you fancy learning the Arabic script, let me know!

I'd love to work on my French with someone - and indeed, any language would be fun! And/or if you're a bit of a chef yourself, I'd love to learn some recipes and techniques from you.

Cosa posso offrire ai padroni di casa

- I make a pretty damn tasty chorizo, bacon and chicken jambalaya, and for the vegetarians, my vegetarian lasagna comes highly rated :) I genuinely get a buzz out of cooking, especially for large groups, so if you wanted to get a group of friends together, I'd be super excited to cook for everyone!

- And on the flip coin, I adore almost all food - so if you like to cook for guests, I will likely be effusive in my praise!

- I'm not a hardcore runner (I have the body of a small shaved gorilla) but I regularly run 8km+ so if you want a running buddy, I'm there!

- Again, I'm no yoga expert at all but I've my sun salute pretty down now so I'd be well up for doing yoga with you.

- If you have any website/email/technical issues or woes, I'll happily help out to say thanks for letting me stay :)

Paesi che ho visitato

Belgium, Burkina Faso, Czech Republic, France, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Spain, Western Sahara

Paesi in cui ho vissuto

United Kingdom