Hi there!

I'm a fellow human from the very Southern reaches of Africa, who loves adventure, loves the cold, is kind and respectful, and I think rather importantly in this context, a very unobtrusive person. Neither extroverted nor introverted, I can easily hold onto intelligent and interesting conversation, I love telling stories about things I've done and places I have been and I love meeting interesting characters and hearing their stories. Although I might look slightly dark on the exterior, my interior is very much filled with light and happiness, generally speaking. So I balance it out that way :) I'm probably what they meant when they said don't judge a book by its cover.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

The reason I signed up now in particular, although I had an account years back, is because of my impending trip to America. I have my travel visa and now it is just a matter of getting through customs which I am nervous but hopeful about.
Should all go well and I find myself past the gauntlet, I would very much like to find people all over the states to possibly stay with. Right now particularly New York though.
I always stay all over the place in my own country and currently have no place to put people up, however I would always be willing to show people around and take them to the best spots I know of. I have traveled extensively around my own country and spent a lot of time in all the major cities.

Interests

My biggest interest in life has to be adventure. Experiencing new things in far off places. Sadly my passport means traveling is rather difficult, but I try my best with what I've got. Not only is photography my work, but it is also very much a hobby of mine. When I'm not photographing or editing clients' work, I can be found clicking away on my own little projects, which are generally only seen on Facebook. I also hand make wooden frames that I re-purpose from old planks I find and other items. Some of which I sell, some I keep. I enjoy travel photography, but am very much into the poorer sides of life. I am fascinated by how other people live, and where they choose to live, and how they adapt. Photographing people and their homes is of great interest to me.
I am completely enthralled by old buildings- abandoned ones and ones still being used, simply for their history and beautiful architecture. For this reason I am as in love in the city as I am in the wilds, so long as the city has a long history. I shun most modern architecture and engineering, and latch onto anything antique.
I am fascinated by what natural science museums offer, and want to visit as many of those as I can, as we have very poor-in-comparison museums here in my country.
I enjoy reading a lot, although these last few years it has been less novels and more things of interest on the internet.
I am a vegetarian and have a fair amount of fun cooking new dishes and experimenting, and I would welcome new recipes!
All of my best moments in life have been shared with people, and I love people. As stupid, ignorant and hateful as many can be, there are also plenty with characters that just immediately click with mine, and with them I have made memories that will effortlessly last for my lifetime. Sometimes the best memories are made with people who are so briefly in one's life. Sometimes it doesn't matter how long you have known someone, you can just click and enjoy a few sights and sounds together, before moving on to the next adventure.

• books
• architecture
• photography
• cooking
• recipes
• coffee
• vegetarian
• reading
• traveling
• engineering
• freelancing
• history
• science

Music, Movies, and Books

I like many different genres of music, I surely have one of the most eclectic tastes out there. Generally the more alternative side of things, old school rock like AC/DC, metal from the early 90's and just generally a lot of 90's music, some 80's, a lot of modern pop music, I adore Lana Del Rey, for example. I'm also very into loud and dancy German music, they really know how to do it. Rammstein has always been a favourite and I can basically die happy after they eventually came all the way down to the bottom of Africa to do two shows only. I love the more technical sounds of Tool. I enjoy some very rudimentary and old blues music too, the kind you can imagine was recorded on some very bad equipment around a fire somewhere in the South of the United States. I even enjoy the somewhat haunting but sweet music of Dolly Parton.

I am a huge fan of 90's movies generally, they just did things better. It was certainly a simpler and less pretentious time. Some of my favourite movies are Legends of the Fall, Dances With Wolves, Into the Wild, Amelie, Mr. Nobody, Edward Scissorhands, Natural Born Killers, Snatch, ridiculous comedies like Hot Shots and Happy Gilmore, although I should probably stop before I am judged too harshly.
I thoroughly enjoy autobiographies, and have read some real features. But possibly the most important book I ever read was The World Without Us by Alan Weisman. I think everyone should read it. I also enjoy bizarre medical crime thrillers. Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy etc.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I suppose it could be seen as slightly cliche'd but I did a bit of an 'Amelie' and one quiet night, I 'stole' a ceramic donkey ornament off someone's veranda wall, with the intention of taking it on holiday with me. As I said it isn't so easy for people from here to travel a lot, especially a freelance worker like me with seemingly few ties to their own country. I had my British travel visa and Schengen, and so off I went with this donkey, that once freed from the wall weighed much more than I had anticipated. Off we went to Amsterdam first, then to Berlin, then to Dublin and then we settled in London for a while, taking pictures all along the way. I didn't even know the people I had taken it from, I only hoped they had a sense of humour. After arriving home and eventually getting the photos printed, I left it and the pictures on the veranda wall another late night. I had no idea if I would ever hear of anything more, but to my utter surprise and amusement, two days later it was in the biggest newspaper in my city, along with the pictures! They had told their daughter who happened to live in the Netherlands about what had happened, and she had urged them to go to the newspaper. I even have one of the headline boards that was put up all around the city.
I thought it was pretty amazing, okay :P

What I Can Share with Hosts

I'm unfortunately not the greatest cook, nor do we really have traditional dishes to share, at least not where I am from. But I have great coffee and tea making skills! I can also provide intelligent conversation, and will always share many laughs with any hosts.
As I am a professional photographer, I can pass along some tips and can even provide a few free pictures, either for profiles or just for memories' sake. I never travel with all of my work equipment because I never work abroad, but I still have about half of it and could pull of some great portraits for hosts.

Countries I’ve Visited

Botswana, England, Germany, Ireland, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Netherlands, Scotland, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Countries I’ve Lived In

England, South Africa