CURRENT MISSIONS

Explore Nagoya, Toyota-shi, Takayama, Shirakawa-go, Kanazawa and Kyoto
Become a digital nomad and live off writing & translating (self-published author/freelance translator)
Live in different countries (Japan, Thailand, Indonesia) while working and enjoying!
Explore Burma's Bagan temples & Luang Prabang in Laos one day

PAST MISSIONS

Worked in Cambodia for the United Nations (Khmer Rouge Trials) as a translator
Found a job in Chiang Mai as an English teacher, then as a French teacher
Made loads of new friends in Chiang Mai & discovered the area with a few
I went to IRAN to visit a long-known friend of mine and stayed there for 2 weeks, after staying for 4 days in Istanbul. One of the best trips of my life as Iran is a very special and beautiful country!!
I visited a friend in POLAND - Warsaw and Krakow (February 2015).
I met with friends in GERMANY - Heidelberg, Halle, Leipzig, Berlin (December 2014).
I met up with friendly residents of Cairo and travelled all across EGYPT (October 2014).

COUNTRIES I HAVE VISITED (in chronological order)
France, Belgium
2007: England
2010: Greece
2013: Scotland, Ireland, China, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Netherlands
2014: Egypt, Germany
2015: Poland, Turkey, Iran, Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand

ABOUT ME

Well since I've been to Leeds as an Erasmus student for one year, I'm much more eager to travel, especially abroad. My Erasmus year was so fantastic, I met many nice & clever people at uni from many different countries :-)
I'm open-minded, I like to discuss and put anything into question, calmly and with the smile. I thought I was open-minded until I got to travel & meet people with really different cultures (Chinese, Indian...) - and I can now say that I'm really open-minded!! I am very respectful of anyone and I will do my best to make things go smoothly â

PHILOSOPHY

So many things to say. In brief, I'm an agnostic and my religion is "the human religion", like Zoroastrianism: think good, talk good, behave good! So be nice to people, help them when they are in need, and make yourself happy - your happiness can help others become happy too, it's contagious!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I would like to accommodate couchsurfers in Chiang Mai, Thailand when I next live there.
Also, I attend some local CS meetings, meet other couchsurfers & have interesting talks with them.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have met a few people in different countries, but just for drinks. I have only had a proper Couchsurfing experience in Dubai and it was amazing!! I hope to find nice hosts who I can learn from and share with :-)

Interests

Sports: athletics & jogging, tennis, table tennis, badminton; living abroad and exploring many countries, especially Southeast Asia, Japan and Iran. I have a love story with Japan: I visited it during summer & spring, next time during autumn. international culture & foreign friends (especially Southeast Asia); the media, English language, and the link between ethnicity/identity/culture/language/mentality... :-)

I used to work for Avaaz, an NGO that is the largest global online citizen movement. To help save the world, check out their website: http://www.avaaz.org

• culture
• working out
• drinking
• tv
• traveling
• socializing
• sports
• tennis
• table tennis
• badminton
• communications
• teaching
• religion
• study abroad

Music, Movies, and Books

MOVIES: a lot of movies, including: My Name Is Khan, Batman "The Dark Knight", The Pianist, Life is Beautiful, Das Leben der Anderen, The Matrix Trilogy, Body of Lies, Enemy of the State, Biutiful, thrillers...
MUSIC: electro/pop, rap/R'n'B (legend Michael Jackson, David Guetta, Lady Gaga, Craig David, Jason Derülo...)
BOOKS: George Orwell, Harry Potter, Tintin, J.G. Farrell, and other academic or fictional books...

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

After visiting a volcano near Santorini, a Cyclades island in Greece, I went up 588 steps to get back to town under a freaking burning sun - dantesque, super exhausting!! The "steps" were 2 meters long... Big time!

Teach, Learn, Share

I think the secret in life is to keep a good balance between achievement and enjoyment.
There are 4 things in life that you should consider as priorities: awareness, knowledge, experience, ability.
Then come 4 things you should look for to keep working on your priorities: focus, drive, motivation & organisation. Then come the means to improve your life & go ahead: audacity, creativity, rigor, risk-taking... The list is long!

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, Cambodia, China, Denmark, Egypt, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Netherlands, Oman, Philippines, Poland, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Cambodia, China, France, Indonesia, Japan, Philippines, Thailand, United Kingdom