CURRENT MISSION

To inquire deeply, be light-footed and loving.

ABOUT ME

Refusenik rebelling at the rat race bait and hoping to find an honest living (ideally a bicycling storyteller) that spreads good words and acknowledges the big picture while satisfying that need to WORK with the head, heart and hands. Tempering idealism with the perceived limits of reality is a theme that repeats. Wanting to fly the nest and seek the new yet wanting to find a place to dig, to call my own. But I think community can be created anywhere- whether I find a home or continue to move, I want to seek and spark that sense of people becoming more than their lone selves...

PHILOSOPHY

Searching for a balance between on one hand the power and significance of the individual and, on the other, a sense of naivety, partiality and smallness. I am not convinced by the holy grail of 'finding the self'- I live through my relationships with others and see my views as partial and subject to change. On the other hand, I would love to attain the integrity to act upon the things that matter to me rather than allowing criticism to stall action.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I had some amazing CS guests while living in Japan, all of whom animated my time there and encouraged me to follow the CS trail. I have no couch at the moment but am excited about the potentials to meet people of all kinds through group networking...

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Bunking off work to head to the beach (a big Japanese faux pas), eating curry with bamboo spoons we carved, stamping in muddy flooded rice fields with many drunken Japanese men, exchanging music and many great meals, chats, dancing, debates and hugs all took place in the context of people coming to stay in my little house in Japan- it was so much fun. I was also generously hosted in Tokyo and Yokohama and made lasting friendships...

Interests

Am always open to racking up new interests but here are a few:
-The practicalities and politics of language-learning and language spread, espcially where English is concerned.
-Social anthropology, esp. medical anth, development and migration issues
-Land rights, food systems, waste, seeds, the small scale.
-Energy use, consumerism and finding poetic ways to fight ecological craziness
-Self-sufficiency
-Carpentry and eco-building
-Camping. Music festivals. Music.

• arts
• music festivals
• glastonbury
• festivals
• dancing
• dining
• yoga
• flying
• politics
• socializing
• music
• guitar
• cycling
• camping
• scuba diving
• anthropology
• calligraphy
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

To listen: Sigur Ros, feisty females, quality electronic quirks, Rokia Traore, Kimya Dawson, Bulgarian wedding songs, Nick Drake/Cave, Morrissey, Schubert, Ott, CocoRosie, Celtic folk and ceilidh dancing. Happy music, mostly.

To watch: Withnail and I, Coen Bros, Wes Anderson

To read: Rilke, Kingsolver, Brothers Grimm, Shelter (et al), Hesse. There is a big list. Most recent, Alistair McIntosh's Soil and Soul: People vs Corporate Power

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Babies being born in Ghana.
A bird eating a worm and shitting simultaneously, a mole creating a mini-earthquake in the path before me.
The god-terrifying fireworks of Trichurs' Pooram Festival.
Groove Armada and Air playing consecutively at Glastonbury aged 17
The rice terraces of Banaue in the Philippines.

Teach, Learn, Share

I am big-headed about my home-made hummus, brownies and challah. I can't call myself a guitar beginner anymore but still crap- should take Amanda Palmer's advice and get a bloody ukulele and stop 'pretending art is hard'. I can hula-hoop, do a mean back massage, basic woodcarving, taiko drumming, collage, speak French, write basic kanji, simple hatha yoga. Skip diving and how to use waste food. Upcycling (wanna make a belt from old inner tubes?)
Want to learn: more about horticulture, calligraphy, storytelling, more bike repair/modification, making natural moisturisers! To tie knots properly. Build a geodome. Build a mud home.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, Cook Islands, France, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Morocco, Netherlands, Philippines, Spain, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Tunisia, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Ghana, Japan, New Zealand, United Kingdom