CURRENT MISSION

Hosting

ABOUT TRAVEL ME

I travel to find a quiet space, to meet new people and perspectives, escape a comfort zone, laugh, miss home, regain focus, and some other reasons. I love the wild and the real and mix up between CS and camping, sleeping outside or on the bike, hostels, friends and strangers. Not a huge fan of planning if it can be avoided, allow for surprises, maybe things can last as long they need to. My experience couch surfing has been profound, and my gratitude to my hosts is profound.

ABOUT HOST ME/US

Love hosting. Doing all the best things and enjoying them like the first time. Or if you're a real traveller and just need respite from the road, that's allowed. I received such magic from this community, changed my view of people, so now to have the opportunity to hold a link in the chain is great. And the place is damn nice, honestly. The company does its best, and if you're lucky Margaux will be here, who's always lovely. We both tend to travel for work so apologies if you're turned down after writing an essay, I don't manage the calendar so maybe ask first and then we do the essay if it's still important ;) I mean, you'll already never get back the time it took you to read all this...

If you're here on a Sunday there's usually a big informal organic music jam which you're automatically invited to, jamming or no. If you're in town and keen you can anyway get in touch.

GOOD THINGS FOR SHARING

I love feeling my bare feet on the ground, physical, love music (guitar, vocals, salsa or just random dancing to edm), cold swims (the only kind we have) cultural whatwhats, and just having a beer. I like people as long as they care about other people. I'd love to say I don't judge much but quite often things fall outside "as long as". Maybe even then there's another angle... I love chatting and am usually smart enough to engage. Everything is always on the table.

PHILOSOPHY

"We must create warrior monks: Men and women with the ability to walk through walls, sense plant auras, stop saying mindless clichés and see into the future!" -the men who stare at goats

LIFE STUFF?

I do management consulting in South Africa usually, and sometimes work on a startup inventing the future of the motorcycle helmet.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

In the past hosted on a roomates acc and loved it. Hosting is complicated for us now because it's technically not allowed and we have some nutters in the block who may cause trouble...that said we decided to try make it work in small amounts.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Co-hosted in Cape Town a bit in 2012 - that was my favourite. Surfed myself for the first time in the US, and have done a whole bunch.

Interests

Meh I just wrote a whole new profile by accident. Don't read all this ancient shit unless you've seriously run out of ways to kill time. I certainly won't...

Risk/surprise. Novelty. Love. Nature. Humans. Old friends and new friends. Finding secret places. Touching reality. Breaking comfort zones. Making shit work. Dreaming worlds.

Music, Movies, and Books

Live, classic rock, psytrance, hindi. Countreh, Turkish house...Eclectic.

The Men who Stare at Goats, big lebowski, fight club, the dark knight, as it is in heaven, the lego movie, the Human documentary series (find it on YouTube)

Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Great Gatsby, Infinite Jest, Don Quixote, Siddhartha

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I told someone the truth about something difficult. I wrote an academic thesis on how to save the world. I crossed India for half a year with no phone. I got friends good jobs, and helped colleagues who were struggling. I tried to jump over a too-big fire and fell in, and got loads of morphine. I once fell in a too-big love. I actually ran a refugee camp. I unconfounded a part of the failing public service. Once I folded a fitted sheet so well you couldn't tell it was a fitted sheet, a feat which I can't replicate.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach a little guitar, a little kung fu, and English. I'll edit documents, chat about nonsense, laugh at the world. I'll also invite you to Africa, which I love sharing. I'm new at French, Chinese, yoga, and salsa and would like to practice, along with meditation, exercise, cooking, and music if you do any of these.

Who anyway does casual meditation with someone else? I would like to meet such a person.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I try to be creative. Also I try to not be horrible to be around.

Countries I’ve Visited

Angola, Austria, Belgium, Botswana, Cambodia, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Laos, Lesotho, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Norway, Poland, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State, Viet Nam, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Countries I’ve Lived In

China, Namibia, Nepal, South Africa