I am an open-minded, friendly person interesting in travelling

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I have a serious case of wanderlust, but I want to travel the world in a way that allows me to explore cultures in a hands-on way, by interacting with the local communities. For me, living with natives is the best way to experience a new cultures & to share your own.

Interests

My major passions are travelling & volunteering. These interests are in perfect harmony with my main hobby - photography. I'm particularly interested in travel and landscape photography. Candid moments rather than staged or composed shots are my thing... In terms of sports, etc, I train as a gymnast and an aerial silks (circus) artist. I enjoy trying new sports all the time, having recently taken up yoga & contemporary dance.

• arts
• books
• photography
• dancing
• education
• yoga
• running
• crafts
• reading
• traveling
• origami
• camping
• sports
• gymnastics
• teaching
• languages
• volunteering

Music, Movies, and Books

Books - 1984, (George Orwell) Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden), Frenchman's Creek (Daphne Du Maurier), The Bell Jar (Sylvia Plath), etc. I'm a avid reader but there are far too many favourites to mention!!

Music - MUSE, Lisa Mitchell, Regina Spektor, Hozier, Ben Howard, Jonsi, Yann Tiersen, Ludovico Einaudi, etc... ( I love all types of music - rock, classical piano, French singers e.g. Coeur di Pirate...)

Movies - anything & everything ! :) Favourites include Chocolat, Breakfast at Tiffany's...

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Volunteering in Tanzania, Africa (2013)
- as an English and Computer Education Teacher.
It was an incredible personal experience as I lived and worked in a local community, with an amazing group of fellow volunteers, Tanzanian workers and students. I gained a keen interest in creating sustainable projects than enable & continued progress in the community.
As a team of 24 we each raised €2,500 for the project, and collected books and computers to bring over to Tanzanian towns. We then set up libraries and computer rooms, where we taught students and teachers English and Comp.Ed. I also took the initiative to create a primary school summer camp in the neighbouring school. I lost my heart to the Tanzanian people, and it is a stunningly beautiful country. I hope to return someday in the near future!

Teach, Learn, Share

I teach English every summer for 3 months in Italy, and occasionally run small yoga classes.
I do not study languages in university full-time but I have learnt French for 6 years, Japanese for 2, Irish for 12, Italian by ear while working in Italy, Portuguese and Spanish. I gained conversational Swahili while in Tanzania too. I am always looking for opportunities to learn new languages or to improve my existing knowledge of them!
I love to learn photography skills, always asking for tips & reading National Geographic blogs, etc.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can help children in the family with English, or fun things like sports or arts & crafts such as origami. I can teach some gymnastics, yoga or foreign languages. I love to share travel experiences with others.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, England, Hungary, Isle of Man, Italy, Northern Ireland, Portugal, Scotland, Tanzania

Countries I’ve Lived In

Ireland, Italy