I am a 21 year-old university student from the west coast of Canada. My favourite pastimes are reading, studying language, trying new food, and engaging in conversations with my friends, with topics from politics to movies.
I can sometimes be quiet and awkward given the situation, but under good conditions I love to talk.
I spend most of my time studying history and reading. I haven't really done anything particularly interesting in my life and my medium-sized Canadian city of Victoria isn't particularly thrilling.
I get through a repetitive life punctured with restaurant trips by reading: since I study Middle Eastern history at school, as well as French literature, I concentrate there, reading about the past 200 years in the region and how language, religion, culture, imperialism, and ideas have shaped the region and my country (Canada's) shady role there.
My interests all come from a political perspective: how does a particular topic lend itself to helping improve our understanding of the world in a way that allows for greater freedom for people? This, and my upbringing, have led me to left-wing politics.
In any case, I'm just a university student who feels cooped up and hopes to experience some of the culture I have read about in books.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I'm in Europe after a two-week theater course in Paris that I'm doing for my degree. I'm hoping to see as much of Northern-Central Europe as I can in a short time before summer classes resume.

Interests

• books
• literature
• politics
• music
• languages
• language exchange
• linguistics
• typography
• bookstores
• architecture photography

Music, Movies, and Books

My favourite music is mainly 1960s and 70s rock and pop, like David Bowie, The Beatles, Talking Heads, Blondie, and their modern inspirations, such as Portugal. the Man. I also like synth pop like MGMT.
As of writing, I'm loving new Japanese pop-rock singer Haru Nemuri's new 2018 album.
My favourite recent movies have been "Tangerines," "Hello My Name is Doris," "Twentieth Century Women."
Since most of my spare time is spent reading, you'd think I could pick a favourite book! I mostly read non-fiction, but a good novel was "Birds Without Wings," a book about the experience of a small town in southern Turkey during the First World War. On the non-fiction side, Pankaj Mishra is a great author who brings complicated historical ideas into reader-friendly formats. One book, "From the Ruins of Empire," tells the story of decolonization in Asia and the ideas that helped push it forward, mainly from the perspective of Imperial Japan, British India, and Qing China. I'd also recommend Jack Shenker's "The Egyptians" for a new, radical perspective on recent Egyptian history, and my best read this summer.

Teach, Learn, Share

I have taught French before, and perhaps I could help with English? I know enough about linguistics and language learning to have an idea what kinds of things could be useful for learning a given language.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can share my love of language, of culture, and of conversation. My curiosity. And, if all goes well, my manners.

Countries I’ve Visited

France, Monaco, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada