CURRENT MISSION

To learn. To teach. To inspire. To constantly be amazed by the good.

ABOUT ME

Hallo! I'm pretty new to official couch surfing but have been unofficially travelling around Ireland and the world hopping from one couch/mattress or floor space to another for as long as I can remember. I love visiting friends and friends of friends as well as hosting friends in my own home. I hate feeling like a tourist and love how couch surfing allows you to see parts of a city/country that are tricky to find when you spend most of your time in a map rather than talking to real people. Wherever I travel, I like to be of help to my lovely hosts. I am always happy to cook and wash dishes, to teach you how to make treats from my part of the world, to help you tune or restring your guitar, to plant trees, sew dresses or try to understand the purpose of life. What else?! I am an INFP.

PHILOSOPHY

"A ship in a harbour is safe, but that is not what ships are for." Don't get me wrong, I'm not exactly an extreme sports enthusiast who relishes the prospect of jumping out of airplanes and other gravity-defying pursuits but I do love doing things and meeting people that challenge me and open my mind to new ways of living life. I try to learn something new and exciting/practical every day... from liquid modernity to liquid detergent. My friends and family are wonderful people who make life conducive to learning of all sorts and my goal is to try and eat up as much of that as possible.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I hope to host and be hosted by couchsurfers and to see a little bit more of this continent and hopefully the rest of the world. I love Belfast and am so happy with how beautiful this city has become and the wealth of wonder it has to offer locals and visitors alike. I hope to participate in more couchsurfing events coffee/drinks/food/festivals/gigs in Belfast and share this marvellous place with those passing through it.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I still have not couch surfed yet but I have hosted two CSers already and each one has been lovelyyyy. A really positive experience for both me and my couch!

Interests

At the moment, my favourite thing to do is to make gifts out of unrecyclable things. I'm a vegetarian who loves meat, isn't all that keen on animals/pets but avoids eating the former until the latter get treated with a little more respect. I enjoy the beautiful things in life... road trips, never ending cups of coffee with friends, epic nights full of dancing, feeding others, learning from and listening to people older than me, skyping friends in far away places, flowers, cakes, candles, pretty fabric, origami, fair trade and food from other countries.

• animals
• pets
• singing
• festivals
• dancing
• dining
• cooking
• coffee
• vegetarian
• running
• drinking
• crafts
• shopping
• flowers
• traveling
• socializing
• origami
• guitar
• surfing
• sports
• extreme sports
• road trips

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies. I love movies but my memory always fails me when I need to list them?! I love independent films, comedy, documentaries... I'm not a big fan of violence/horror or really upsetting films purely for the sake of entertainment but will gladly subject myself to hours of tears/nightmares if the film is based on true story/subject matter. Focus Features make me happy. Some films I have liked/loved recently... Precious, The Last King of Scotland, Aladdin, Madagascar, Crude, Food Inc., Milk, Away We Go, Sin Nombre, Hunger, The Reader. I don't watch a whole lot of TV but Flight of the Conchords and The Office must be mentioned.

Music. Yes please. There is always time and space for music. I'm not very good at making it but listening to it, especially with musicians right in front of me, is one of my favourite things to doooo. In alphabetical order [because that is how my iTunes works], a selection... Adrian Crowley, Arcade Fire, Beirut, Bon Iver, Bowerbirds, Broken Social Scene, Camera Obscura, Devendra Banhart, Elliott Smith, Fleet Foxes, Frightened Rabbit, Goldfrapp, Great Lake Swimmers, Ida Maria, José González, Laura Marling, Lisa Hannigan, Lykke Li, Marissa Nadler, MGMT, Mumford and Sons, Nick Cave, The Rural Alberta Advantage, Santogold, Sigur Rós, Slow Club, St. Vincent, Stars, Sufjan Stevens, The Tallest Man on Earth, Willy Mason, The XX and many of the classics. PS Couchsurfers! I am MORE than happy to attend shows of any of the above if they are playing in Belfast... I will be your gig buddy. Promise!

Books. Ohhh, this is where I must disappoint you. I used to read five books at a time as a child, I filled notebooks with short stories, poems, rhymes and pictures and yet life as an adult has left me illiterate. I read scholarly articles/textbooks and newspapers but never seem to find the time or attention span to read an entire book. I am surrounded by readers and people who write and sell books so I am making it a goal of sorts to read a book soon. I will update you on my progress.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I graduted from high school at 16 and went to live in Equatorial Guinea for a year.

No electricity, no running water, no cooking appliances other than a two ring gas stove, no real knowledge of Spanish other than 'Hi. Hello, I'm Irish and I don't speak your language very well.' It was an amazing experience in countless ways but most importantly a major lesson in maturity and resourcefulness.

Teach, Learn, Share

Teach. I can teach you (to)...

make origami swans
Spanish/Irish/French (sort of...)
make notebooks from old envelopes
develop a discerning eye for charity shopping
bake flapjacks, scones, gingerbread men, pizza and quiche

Learn. I would love to learn (to)...

make a perfect cupcake
sing some folk songs with a guitar(s)
more about permaculture/composting
make more recycled crafts/find a use for plastic bags

Share. There is always ALWAYS tea available for sharing.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Cameroon, Chile, Czech Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Paraguay, Peru, Spain, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay

Countries I’ve Lived In

Chile, Equatorial Guinea, Ireland, United Kingdom, United States