Hi! I'm Emily, and I live with my family (husband and 2 kids) in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. In July this year, we are setting off on an amazing 6-month journey through Europe and North Africa, and we are looking forward to making many new friends and showing our kids some of this beautiful world we live in. My husband and I are both teachers, and I'm also a writer (my first 2 books came out in April 2018). Our kids are four and ten years old, and we all love nature, great family movies, Lego, reading, making art, learning new things, and doing crazy dancing to music in our lounge room!
If you are creative, friendly, easygoing and have a passion for social and environmental justice, we are going to get along great.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Is technology and the internet driving us to live more isolated, individualistic lives, or is it bringing us closer together and creating new communities? I think it's all about how you use it: networks like this give us an opportunity to do the latter. When I've travelled in the past, the best moments always came from meeting local people, striking up connections, and sharing a little slice of their life. I want my children to grow up with an open mind: curious about new experiences, patient with the uncertainties of travelling, and to feel a bond with people around the world who may be very different to them in age, culture, and background. Hotels and theme parks have their place on a family holiday (we are definitely going to Legoland!), but we want something more authentic.

Interests

• writing
• reading
• drawing
• hiking
• nature
• mythology
• graphic novels
• lego
• vegetarian cooking

Music, Movies, and Books

As a family, we love Studio Ghibli movies (from Japan) like Totoro, Ponyo, and Spirited Away. We love a few good Disney movies like Moana, Big Hero 6, and Mary Poppins.
My husband and I like good sci-fi and drama movies and series like Orphan Black and Westworld.
I prefer reading novels (Arundhati Roy, Neil Gaiman, Richard Flanagan), whereas my husband likes comics and non-fiction books on indigenous history and environmental issues.
Our son is a huge reader and is currently devouring books on mythology; he also likes fantasy and sci-fi. Our daughter is too young to read independently but loves funny picture books!
We all love music by Queen, Led Zeppelin, and many more.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I have lived and volunteered all around the world, especially with refugee organisations, and I started my own asylum seeker support organisation here in Hobart, which won the Tasmanian Human Rights Award.

Teach, Learn, Share

I'm a professional teacher of English as a Second Language and I also love teaching creative writing. I'm an actor in an improvisational form called Playback Theatre. My husband teaches Outdoor Education (rafting, hiking, rock climbing etc) and is interested in Bush Adventure Therapy. We will be homeschooling our kids while we travel. All of us would love to learn more about your culture, including language, cooking, and arts.

What I Can Share with Hosts

My kids are USUALLY charming and funny! (So is my husband, I can't speak for myself!). We are happy to share our skills, stories, and time with you. I'm happy to offer tutoring and editing in English, if you need it. We can cook, and will have our own transport, bedding, and a tent.
We are a queer-friendly family.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Belgium, China, Cook Islands, England, Finland, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Russian Federation, Singapore, Switzerland, Timor-Leste (East Timor), Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, Mongolia, New Zealand