CURRENT MISSION

Live like you mean it

ABOUT ME

Originally from a tiny village in England, I left the UK after finishing Uni, and have spent most of the last 13 years travelling, only "settling" briefly in London a few times before tiring of the rat race.I love meeting new people, experiencing new cultures and trying to learn new languages.I always try and include some volunteer work in my travels - usually with animals, and am always feeding stray dogs and cats. I'm easy going but occasionally stubborn, happy but not hyper, talkative but a good listener, open minded but opinionated and quite small (I actually fit in a suitcase). I love anything arty and am an aspiring jeweller having studied silversmithing. Looking at ways to mix my love of art with conservation and education but have a million an one ideas and not enough hours in the day...

PHILOSOPHY

"Nobody made a great mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little" (Edmund Burke)"There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,There is a rapture on the lonely shore,There is society, where none intrudes,By the deep sea, and music in its roar:I love not man the less, but Nature more" (Lord Byron)

"When we get out of the glass bottles of our ego and when we escape like squirrels turning in the cages of our personality and get into the forests again, we shall shiver with cold and fright but things will happen to us so that we don’t know ourselves. Cool, unlying life will rush in, and passion will make our bodies taut with power. We shall stamp our feet with new power and old things will fall down, we shall laugh, and institutions will curl up like burnt paper" (D H Lawrence)

"Adventure is a path. Real adventure – self-determined, self-motivated, often risky – forces you to have firsthand encounters with the world. The world the way it is, not the way you imagine it. Your body will collide with the earth and you will bear witness. In this way you will be compelled to grapple with the limitless kindness and bottomless cruelty of humankind – and perhaps realise that you yourself are capable of both. This will change you. Nothing will ever again be black-and-white" (Mark Jenkins)

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I started using CS in 2006 and have always had great experiences. I travel solo a lot and it's so much nicer to get to know a place by meeting people, rather than staying alone in a hotel. I like to host people for the same reason - so they can get to know a place and feel at home.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Whakatane - New Zealand, Nuku'alofa - Tonga, Suva - Fiji. All great - Fiji was fantastic! Also attended a few CS events whilst living in Melbourne.
I have hosted some couch surfers in London and had a few people stay with me in Chiang Mai too

Interests

Animals (esp. penguins, otters, lemurs & cats), art, books, cheese, music, photography, travel, wine, cheese, making stuff, cheese, nature

• animals
• cats
• dogs
• arts
• culture
• books
• photography
• education
• dining
• cooking
• wine
• cheese
• traveling
• volunteer work
• socializing
• music
• teaching
• languages
• volunteering

Music, Movies, and Books

Pretty much anything... Music: I appreciate most types of music but especially like acoustic, classical, jazz. I am lost without my ipod and have a huge variety of music to reflect my mood.Movies: my favourite movie is Gladiator, and I've never seen Star Wars, which astounds most people. And for that reason and because I'm stubborn, I am never going to watch it.Books: I love books and bookshops and libraries, but don't often get a chance to read as much as I'd like. I prefer fact to fiction and usually read a lot of personal accounts of historical events in a place I'm visiting.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Seen: The Galapagos Islands

Done: Saved various animals from death. And skydived over the Namib desert

Teach, Learn, Share

I can give good travel advice - it's my former job. I can also name most of the capital cities and countries in the world and tell you the 3 letter airport codes for them if you find that useful.

And I'm amazing at scrabble and apple bobbing.

When I'm not being a geek I also love cooking for people :)

What I Can Share with Hosts

Stories, laughter, food, cooking and culture

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Botswana, Cambodia, Canada, China, Colombia, Cyprus, Ecuador, Egypt, Fiji, France, Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kenya, Laos, Lesotho, Malawi, Malaysia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Swaziland, Tanzania, Thailand, Tonga, Turkey, Uganda, United States, Viet Nam, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Uganda, United Kingdom

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