ABOUT ME

I am a friendly person and I love hearing people's stories. Best of all, I get paid to do this for a living. I am passionate about hope. This might sound strange, but in Australian politics (and many other places) I see it as being run on fear. I want to encourage people to have hope. Fear shrinks people into a protective mode, hope helps people to look beyond themselves towards possibility. Not surprisingly, I wrote my PhD on hope.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING I get a lot of requests from couch surfers and I would like to host you all. Because of this, I only accept 2 to 3 requests per month and prefer people who are going to stay a bit longer (4 to 7 days being my preference). If you're only staying overnight, I might not see you except to let you in the house. However, if you're in trouble and need a place at short notice, get in touch and I'll be happy to find space for you. I understand that sometimes plans go haywire while backpacking (like the young adults who ran out of money and needed somewhere to stay while they sorted themselves out) and that sometimes you need a bit of help in a strange country.

By the way, I don’t do “friends” unless I know you personally. It’s nothing personal, I grew up before Facebook and such like, so to me friends are people I actually know.

Interests

Besides hope? I have a dog who has "personaility." He can behave, but he certainly isn’t a robot. I wouldn't want a dog who was just a furry robot. My old girl passed a way a year or so ago - my piano displays the ribbons and trophies that she earnt before she got tired of competing (mostly for obedience). Jack got thrown out the dog club and is on anxiety medication.

I also enjoy classical music and play the cello in a symphony orchestra. At the moment I am also learning the piano.

• dogs
• politics
• music
• classical music
• piano
• backpacking
• cello
• orchestra

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

My most memorable moment was working with a child with cerebral palsy in India. His mother had brought him to me to ask if I could help him walk (I was an Occupational Therapist). This boy was the most determined kid I have ever come across, particularly as his family literally had nothing.

After a week of hard work, many falls and determination on both our parts, he was walking with crutches. There is nothing that beats that for amazing.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Israel, Jordan, Nepal, New Zealand, South Africa, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, India