CURRENT MISSION

To live my life according to the things I love.

ABOUT ME

God I hate this bit. I guess I am not good at writing about myself, generally more interested in the world around me. Having said this I am laid back, understanding and have a strong desire to make the most of my life - well I try. I guess the core of my passion is the natural world - to me it is just so full of life and being around it makes me feel more alive too. Unfortunately I think many people wrap themselves like a blanket in the human world and are just missing out on so much of what is around them. I guess this blanket is a big part of the general disconnect that we seem to have today, with nature seeming seperate from our everyday existence.

PHILOSOPHY

I try to live my life so that the definition of me is not just as a consumer - this is very difficult as society is set up in such a way that it is the most natural thing for us to do. Ultimately I would like to be able to say that I have lived a full life and that in some way, hopefully a big way I have given something back to compensate.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Brand new to this so I dont participate, however I would like to meet lots of new different people. Quite happy to show people around the local area, meet up for a chat etc. Unfortunately I cant share my couch at present.

Interests

Too many to list as I seem to get new ones every few months. Having said this I have a big passion for nature conservation and the outdoors so hiking, climbing, and scuba diving have to be in there. Much of my travels have involved some kind of nature conservation volunteering from large carnivores in Romania to Lemon sharks in the Bahamas. I am also interested in living self-sufficiently and ultimately would like to start up some type of co-housing project/commune somewhere like north wales or the pyrenees surrounded by like-minded people growing our own food, producing our own energy etc. Free in the truest sense of the word - not dependent on supermarkets, the national grid etc. Added to this there are things like philosophy, politics, photography, social engineering etc. Oh yeah I do enjoy tennis with a few visits to Wimbledon and the Madrid open last year - maybe next year I will go to the french open. Would like to explore the catacoombs in Paris whilst there.

• writing
• photography
• education
• dining
• cooking
• walking
• flying
• politics
• traveling
• outdoor activities
• hiking
• scuba diving
• rock climbing
• tennis
• teaching
• engineering
• volunteering

Music, Movies, and Books

Have to say I love movies, probably the escapism of it - top ones in no particular order are: 'The lives of others', 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly', 'Oldboy', 'Drive', and 'The shawshank redemption'.

Come to think of it I also love books, not so much the escapism but the best way to learn new things. My favorites inlcude 'Papillion', '1984', 'Of mice and men'. A book that had a big influence on me recently was Mark Boyle's 'the moneyless man' - not that I would want to go to his extreme, but certainly some way would be good. A great book on treading lightly.

Not a great listener of music but I do enjoy it and should do it a lot more. Not really into much of the music of the last ten years or so, prefer people/bands like David bowie, Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones, The beatles, Radiohead, Nina Simone etc.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

The most amazing view I have ever seen is probably Mt Bromo in Indonesia (see photos) - it looks like there should be dinosaurs walking around or something. I was also blown away by Scuba diving in the cook islands - it is like entering another world.

Teach, Learn, Share

I think you can learn from anyone even if it is learning off someone how not to be.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Cook Islands, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Laos, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, France, Hungary, Indonesia, New Zealand, Romania, United Kingdom