CURRENT MISSION

Starting April 20th: See as much of the west of the USA as possible in 6 weeks!

ABOUT ME

I'm a 24 year old, who loves to meet new people from all walks of life. I love to hear new ideas, visit new places and generally expand my horizons.

I have always lived in the same house, apart from my four years of university. I studied a three year BSc in Maths at Durham, and spent a further year studying at the Université de Savoie in Chambery, France. Since finishing there, I've been working as a risk analyst, but I became restless and have now got a job training as an accountant in London.

I have been fortunate enough to visit a variety of places in Europe and beyond, and I hope that Couchsurfing.com can provide me with yet more opportunities. Of course, I intend to give something back by hosting members of this community in London.

PHILOSOPHY

I definitely don't live my life by the words of wisdom of some philosopher, but I'm a strong believer in things being pre-ordained (not in a religious way), even for insignificant matters. i.e., if something's meant to happen, it will happen!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I have hosted friends from abroad many times, and similarly taken advantage of their hospitality. Unfortunately I have only become aware of Couchsurfing very recently, otherwise i would have integrated myself into this community a long time ago!

The very ethos of this project is both admirable and indisputably helpful to all who are involved. Personally speaking, I cannot wait to embrace the process of meeting and getting to know like minded groups and individuals from all corners of the world, whether through hosting or simply metting for coffee.

Interests

I always consider my own interests to be fairly unexciting, but I'll let you judge for yourself...

The obvious prerequisite of this site is a love of travel, and I certainly have that. I love the challenge of fending for myself in new places, and generally love exploring what any new city has to offer.

I like to keep abreast of all thats going on in the world through newspapers, books or the internet. I would like to think that I could hold my own on most topics, although I'm also fairly passive and would never force my opinions on anybody! As well as reading the media, I also love novelists such as Graham Greene, Robert Harris and James Ellroy.

I'm a huge music fan, and I go to Glastonbury most years, and have also enjoyed other smaller festivals. I have played guitar and keyboards in a few different bands. I've just had to leave my current band as I'm heading to London :( I'm sure I'll find another in a few years though!

I'm hugely passionate about sport too. Particularly football (soccer!), but also tennis, basketball and various others (basically any sport where artistry is as important as hard work!).

I love going out, just like any other person does. Spiced rum and coke is always my choice nowadays, unless I'm somewhere pricey! In which case its cider or traditional English ale (not lager!) Just as much as going out, I love hosting my friends for dinner or heading round to theirs. I love cooking for my friends in these kind of situations, and try to do this where possible. Following on from the cooking, I love food in general and you would be hard pressed to find something I don't like!

• books
• glastonbury
• festivals
• dining
• cooking
• coffee
• reading
• traveling
• music
• guitar
• piano
• blues
• sports
• basketball
• soccer
• tennis
• communications
• mathematics
• philosophy

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies...Some of my closest friends have encyclopaedic knowledge of films, which sometimes makes me feel like I have seen very few of them but this is not really the case!
I'm not keen on science fiction, or blockbusters. Films that have really stood out for me recently are In Bruges and A Very Long Engagement. I also doubt I will ever be bored of The Big Lebowski!

Music is much more my area. It always fascinates me to think about why certain people like certain types of music. Its important to respect anyone's tastes but sometimes its hard!
I'd say that my favourite artists were the Beatles and Fleetwood Mac, but in terms of scenes its hard to look past the LA/Laurel Canyon scene of CSNY, Mamas and the Papas, the Band, the Byrds, Jackson Browne, the Eagles etc.
I'm generally less interested in newer music, although I love the Fleet Foxes. I also think its a shame how Coldplay are derided by so many people when they make such innovative music. Some of their lyrics are appalling though!

I do love reading but I never tend to read more than ten pages at once, and as a result don't get through enough books!
In terms of fiction, I generally prefer older works, although my favourite novel is Fatherland which Robert Harris wrote fairly recently. I equally enjoy biographics and factual reading. I've just finished The Cold War by Martin Walker which has been very informative. Lots of numbers to take in though at times!

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

The first thing that came to mind was being on the Great Wall just north of Beijing. Maybe an obvious choice, but we managed to walk a section of a few miles with nobody else in sight. The sheer accomplishment of its creators really hit home.

Teach, Learn, Share

In terms of teaching, I believe I could teach most people a thing or two on guitar or piano (without wanting to sound immodest!), but would equally love to be taught a thing or two myself (especially blues piano).
I speak French to a reasonable level, so could obviously pass on this knowledge to some extent. My level is certainly deteriorating though, and so I would appreciate the opportunity to speak French with anyone!
I'd love to share cooking ideas, as well as tales of places I've visited. Broadly speaking, I'd love to learn any hobbies or skills that my couchsurfing hosts are passionate about!

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, China, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Sweden

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, United Kingdom

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