CURRENT MISSION

GIVING 🙌 is one of the greatest thrills of my life and my mission is one that involves philanthropic gestures and time ⏳ for others; our most precious commodity.

I believe our purpose in life should not be to simply procreate but nurture what we have. This is not simply about reusing waste matter but paying attention to people and articles that have been neglected. ADOPTION, CONSERVING, and EDUCATION are all positive ways forward in my view.

I feel privileged that work opportunities have enabled me to move around the 🌍 globe in the way I've wanted. Having lived in over half a dozen countries for more than a year in EACH (see MY OVERVIEW section) getting under the skin of a nation through living and working is what plays a significant role in my life's mission.

ABOUT ME

I am an 🎩 Englishman, born in 🇨🇷 Costa Rica, residing in 🇨🇿 Czechia, my second 🏠 home. Since 2006 I have been living overseas in various parts of the world.

I hold some 21st century values such as equality and freedom of self-expression.

In person, I think of myself as a flâneur and raconteur; one who also gains satisfaction from good relations and continuity. I am no charlatan but on balance a good listener contrary to my vichyssoise of verbiage. I am therefore an open-minded, adventuresome, genteel individual with a strong sense of compassion and courtesy.

I am also a big 🍜 foodie, an epicurean by nature and bon vivant at heart. I believe food is not only a means to live but an opportunity to share and make friends. I particularly like the Arabian proverb I came across once. 'He who eats alone, chokes alone.'

As an open-minded individual I have an eclectic sense of humour ranging from felicitous to 😈 wicked. I therefore often connect better with people who have a multifarious sense of humour.

Socially, I gravitate to warm, open people, who have nothing to hide.

PHILOSOPHY

'If you are going through hell, keep going.'
[Winston Churchill - Former British Prime Minister]

...and one of my own.

'Too much modesty in a man only denotes how unworthy others are of hearing and learning from their experiences.'

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Social meet ups; walking tours and the occasional couchsurf.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

The majority of my 'couchsurfing' experiences have been born from brief encounters with locals on trains and buses.

Whilst in LA quite a long time ago, I was fortunate enough to stumble across a bit of a philanthropist within minutes of landing into LAX airport. I was kindly offered a room for a few nights during the last leg of my three week journey through three of the neighbouring states. The kindness and generosity was touching to say the least and learned that with a bit of trust in unknown circumstances, life can be a fruitful experience.

"Make sure when you return with my front door keys you have enough clothes for seven years.", were the last words I recall.

Interests

Because 🧳TRAVEL is not just a passion but part of who I am, why not CHECK OUT my travel channel I launched during Covid? SUBSCRIBE if you like my content and share with your friends.

https://youtube.com/@makingjourneys

Hitherto my personal interests are ones which compliment this entrenched passion of mine; TRAVEL. Such related interests include:

· 🍔 Gastronomy
· 🥾 Walking, rambling and hiking
· ✒ Poetry, prose and travel writing
· 👨‍💻 Studying languages (including my own)
· 🏛 Architectural wonders (ancient to new)
· 🗺 Russian and world history
· 🏯 The Orient

Having engaged in these religiously, I've wined and dined in Michelin restaurants and yet been as content eating street food on plastic stools in Southeast Asia and Latin America. I've kipped outside airports and in 🛎 hotel lobbies, slept on glaciers and gone off into the land of nod in luxury 5 star suites with duck feather pillows and eiderdown quilts. Hitherto my eclectic mix of tastes in all things earthly yield a plethora of ideas so that in turn I can scale more tantalizing regions of the globe to put into those wonderfully rich things we call WORDS.

Furthermore, I dote upon seeing and experiencing everything from the fluorescent lights of Vegas and Singers to less trodden paths of the globe. Besides many others; 🇮🇩 Indonesia, 🇺🇸 California, 🇨🇳 China and 🇺🇦 Ukraine are particular places that invoke a deep feeling of nostalgia. Additionally--- I love watching cities wake up!

The more cultures I've got to grips with the more I've found myself appreciating other international cuisines of the country I've stayed or travelled through. Hitherto, I find myself wanting to acquire the ability to rustle up these dishes myself. As a result, cooking has been one of my youngest pastimes.

• languages
• travel
• gastronomy
• poverty alleviation
• vexillology

Music, Movies, and Books

Musically I have an eclectic mix of tastes from Portuguese Fado to Funk; as well as a deep love of the Chinese Erhu!

Above all though I prefer silence or sounds of nature.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I once juggled 3 oranges without dropping them!

Teach, Learn, Share

As a 👨‍🏫 Teacher of English my expertise lies in providing others with a source of improving their level to whatever extent they wish. I believe a good teacher not only assists students to learn for themselves but learns about them as individuals hence using their weaknesses in the language as a tool for improving and advancing.

Gaining my Trinity TESOL for teaching foreign speaking students of English changed my life quite literally. Developing as a Teacher is just one reason for staying in my profession. It's always so very refreshing to learn as much in the classroom as they do, especially if students have an alacritous nature.

In conclusion both in and out of work, TEACHING, LEARNING and SHARING are of great importance to me.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Outstanding company and a laugh a minute!!!

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, China, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, England, Estonia, France, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Palestine, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Scotland, Senegal, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State, Wales

Countries I’ve Lived In

China, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, England, Indonesia, Poland, Russian Federation, Spain, Ukraine