CURRENT MISSION

Travelling through the European countries I've always wanted to visit and teaching English on Skype. I usually work a bit (or as little as possible!) during the day but then take the nights off to socialise and explore. I usually use AirBnb to stay with local people (I'm done with hostels), but occasionally, depending on the city, I will try to use CS to stay with really great locals and get the most out of a particular city whilst working from a co-working space.

I work to be able to travel which is my real passion in life. I have found it difficult to settle anywhere so I enjoy spending a week or two in a city and then heading off somewhere else. By no coincidence, my favourite cities are the cities in which I stayed with a really fantastic host either on AirBnb or CS. I search hard for good hosts and when I host on CS myself (when I stay in a place for a few months for work) then I really like to involve myself in the surfer's experience of the city.

ABOUT ME

I'm not too sure how I would describe myself but people tell me I'm very easy-going, very calm, easy-to-talk-to and trustworthy.

What I've been up to since leaving uni.

After overlanding from London to Singapore and then working in America over the summer, I took my CELTA qualification in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. I worked as an English teacher in a great school in Cadiz before flying to Brazil for the football World Cup and cycling in South America for 6 months. I flew from Guyana to Melilla in Spain to work again before cycling from the very north of the UK to the very south. I moved to Japan to teach at a university near Tokyo and then took my English teaching online and travelled through 12 European countries becoming what people term a 'Digital nomad'. I finished 6 months of doing this by taking my laptop with me on a cycle tour around France whilst watching Euro 2016 games.

Now I'm not really sure what to do next. Any ideas?

PHILOSOPHY

A ship is safe in the harbour, but that's not what ships are built for. My favourite travel quote says it all really. I like to wander, to get lost and to bump into the strangest and most wonderful experiences. On previous trips those have included hitch hiking from Albania to Kosovo and helping to console a heartbroken boxer on the Trans-Siberian express at 4am over a bottle of vodka. Life is a story and if I had the dedication levels I would try to write as much of it down on my blog, but shamefully I tend to forget to.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Surfed quite a bit on my travels so great to pay it back by hosting.
I try to host wherever I stay for a few months.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

After getting bored of hostels (not sociable, everyone on their laptops...) I couchsurfed in Asia and even more so in North America. Loved it! Had the best and most memorable times whilst staying with some truly awesome people. I never knew human beings could be so nice before I started couchsurfing. It really is amazing.

Interests

Here are a few of my favourite things...

- going to watch football games. I like to see the local side play wherever I travel. I've been to some weird and wonderful places and stadiums to watch football. It's one of my favourite pastimes at home and it's a great way to get a taste of local pastimes. The first thing I do when I plan to go somewhere is look up the local team and see if they are playing at home.

- travelling by train. My favourite method of transport along with Guapa my bike. A few years ago I travelled from London to Singapore by train and fell in love with staring out of windows and sleeping on couchettes whilst rolling through countries and continents. I especially love overnight trains and I try to make use of them if I can.

- reading and writing. Both of which I know I should do more of. I lost a lot of my love for reading whilst doing my literature degree and my motivation for writing isn't quite as strong as my dream of being an author. I need new experiences to inspire me. Couch surfing is pretty good for that.

- cycling. The best way to feel a country. I tried cycle touring in South America, I did a much better job of it in the UK and in France. A perfect day is a pleasant cycle along country lanes, a picnic with a view and a tree to sit under with a good book. Ahh....

- the other stuff. Yes, I like cooking and eating but I'm no foodie. I will try anything once. Music: I have no steadfast preferences so put whatever you like on and I'll be happy. Tell me about yourself - I'm really just fascinated by other people and how they live. It's the reason I couchsurf and the reason I travel.

• writing
• books
• literature
• cooking
• picnic
• reading
• traveling
• blogging
• music
• cycling
• hiking
• surfing
• boxing
• soccer
• teaching

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: I'm into American indie films and Adventure travel films/documentaries. Too many really to mention and to be honest I forget their titles, but a few I recently liked were Short Term 12, Kings of Summer and The Spectacular Now. I also shamelessly love crappy college teen movies, the best being the American Pie series.

Music: I always proclaim to have a terrible taste in music but really it comes from not being fussy at all about what I listen to. I tend to like songs more than bands, but recurring favorites include RHCP and Foo Fighters. To aid my musical indecisiveness I tend to listen to the radio - mostly top 40 but also some American country. My karaoke song is Journey's Don't Stop Believing which I will shamelessly ruin if you take me to a karaoke bar.

Books: Despite having a degree in reading books, I don't read as much as I should. I usually go for non-fiction travel or short stories. Any book over 300 pages, unless it is Harry Potter or LOTR, is too long in my opinion. I don't always finish a book, but if it's good, and I've found a few that are, I will spend all day with it. Those books, sadly, are all too rare.
Most of what I read is news or opinion pieces.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Every day you travel you see something amazing. The feeling of looking back on your actions later on and thinking 'Did I really just do/see that?!' is what makes traveling so great.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Well, free English lessons if you want! I'll help out with anything you need a hand with.

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guyana, Hong Kong, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Kosovo, Laos, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Macao, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Myanmar, Netherlands, Norway, Paraguay, Philippines, Portugal, Russian Federation, Singapore, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Italy, Japan, Spain, United Kingdom, United States