CURRENT MISSION

To couchsurf the world in my twenties and thirties!

ABOUT ME

Hey, I'm Jack and I am an inveterate traveller who really loves the ethos of Couchsurfing. I am a pretty happy go lucky guy who also likes to have a few projects on the go and some dreams for seeing new places.

I am currently based in Melbourne. I have previously lived in London, Paris, Milan and Sydney.

I have hosted and couchsurfed in several European countries along with the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand and Mexico and other parts of Latin America. I have been extraordinarily lucky to meet some marvellous people through this project and I hope to meet many more great people through events and trips in the years to come! I have also been lucky to embark on backpacking tours of South America and Southeast Asia.

John Le Carré once wrote ‘a desk is a dangerous place from which to see the world’ and that really resonates with me as I am sometimes a bit of a restless traveller myself, looking for the next thing to reach out of my comfort zone and mix things up. I have a special affinity with Italy, in which I have travelled extensively. I am currently working on a book about Italian history.

Among some cool places I have been hosted are across Tuscany, Liguria, Piedmont, the Veneto, Montreal, Vermont, Australia, the Rhône valley, Provence, Switzerland, Denmark, Chile, Argentina :) Next places on the wish list to visit are Estonia, Tunisia and South Africa. One day I'd even love to make it to riskier places like Cuba or Myanmar or Syria and I hope things will get easier there in time for people, but time is seldom perfect. I like the quote by T.S. Eliot who said 'Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.'

I am open to meeting people from all walks of life. I think trust and connection is so important in life for developing better societies to break down barriers and I like to take time out to discover people’s values and engage in talk to others. I try to be honest, genuine and curious and those are attributes I respect in others as well. The art of conversation is special and precious and in general I think people have more in common than they do in differences. On my travels I came to realise people you meet are pretty smart wherever you go and that everyone needs and wants social connection as a source of nourishment and development, that’s why apps like this can be really cool. You have to take a little risk sometimes in life, hey?

I do occasionally have ability to host if I have a spare couch in my flat, so if you have some good references I may be able to host or show visitors around. I like to make a meal for guests or some fresh coffee from my trusty bialetti moka pot.

My favourite music stations Radio 6Music and NTS Radio, they are a treasure trove of great audio material :D If you would like a recommendation for a show, feel free to ask me.

PHILOSOPHY

‘Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.’ Robert-Louis Stevenson

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

‘Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity’
Simone Weil

I have been so lucky with Couchsurfing. I feel like it's an amazing gateway to get past the mundane predictability of travelling through a place. For me, when you meet the people, that's when the real memories start to happen. I have travelled extensively with Couchsurfing in Western Europe and parts of Australia, I have slept on floors, in sumptuous beds and on many a different couch, all worth the vivid experience. On almost 50 occasions, I've almost never had a bad experience. With each time I have met extraordinarily kind, generous and witty hosts and made many a good friend, so it really puts your faith back into humankind. I have hosted in York and London in the past and hope to be able to do so again in the future, wherever that may be, I just always like meeting new people who are on their own journey.

Interests

‘The possible’s slow fuse is lit by the imagination’, Emily Dickinson

I am very much into European art and literature from between 1900 and 1920, especially French, German, Italian, Swiss and Austrian art. My favourite artists are Hodler, Macke, Klimt, Schiele, Kandinsky, Klee, Modigliani, Picasso and Mirò.

I also love cross-country running, strength training and swimming. Although I am sometimes committed to work or study, I get away to travel as often as I can and to enjoy the beauty of our marvellous European continent. Robert Louis Stevenson put it best when he wrote ‘I travel not to go anywhere, but to go...I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move.’

• architecture
• beauty
• running
• partying
• reading
• traveling
• drawing
• electronic music
• jazz
• swimming
• history
• philosophy
• art
• gym
• meeting new people

Music, Movies, and Books

'Without music, life would be a mistake', Friedrich Nietzsche

Music is vitally important to me and I discover so much of it through my favourite weekly broadcast, Gilles Peterson's worldwide show, on BBC 6Music. That station has introduced me to so many great artists like Jeff Buckley, Arctic Monkeys, Hiatus Kaiyote, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Cassandra Wilson, King Krule, Nick Cave, Incubus, Bob Dylan and The Last Shadow Puppets, among innumerable other artists that I have on my Spotify! I have also started discovering Italian folk musicians like Fabrizio de André and popular Brazilian musical artists such as Novos Baianos, Os Mutantes, Caetano Veloso, Marcos Valle.

Favourite jazz artists are Miles Davis, Kenny Barron, Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Kahil El Zabar, Stan Getz, Wayne Shorter, Louis Armstrong, Errol Garner.

Favourite classical composers are Ravel, Debussy, Chopin, Bellini, Rachmaninov, Sibelius, Bach, Prokofiev, Shostakovich and Stravinsky.

Favourite house and dance music artists are Romare, Moodymann, D'Angelo, Lone, Disclosure.

I love lots of different tv shows including Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown, Californication, Breaking Bad, The Sopranos, Black Books etc. I like comedians such as Bill Burr, Lee Evans, Dylan Moran, Micky Flanagan and Ross Noble.

I collect a lot of literature and travel books; I probably have too many books, but I don't care because they give me understanding, memory and inspiration. And those who have read my profile will know that I love a good quote. Some of my favourite writers include D.H. Lawrence, Graham Greene, Ian Fleming, Christopher Hitchens, Robert Hughes, George Orwell, Alberto Moravia, Byron, Shelley, Antony Beevor, Anais Nin, Henry Miller, Anthony Bourdain, Esther Perel, Raymond Chandler, Camille Paglia.

I really like European films and some of my favourite film directors are Alexander Payne, Luchino Visconti, Ray Lawrence, Eric Rohmer and Michael Haneke. Some of my favourite films are Sideways, Lantana, Casablanca, Vertigo, Glengarry Glen Ross, Midnight Cowboy, Rebel Without A Cause, Raging Bull, Marathon Man.

I also like drawing, sketching and designing, often with Adobe Fresco, Photoshop or Canva.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Slept under the stars in Kakadu National Park in Australia :D

Teach, Learn, Share

‘Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little.’ Edmund Burke

I am happy to teach anyone English and I would love to share my experiences with like-minded people who wish to reciprocate, especially those who like art, architecture and philosophy. I always like to try and communicate in the host's language wherever possible, especially Italian!

What I Can Share with Hosts

‘Believe those who seek the truth; doubt those who find it’, André Gide

I am courteous, punctual and always gracious of having the privilege to stay with another CS host. And, most importantly, I love to chat about all my various travels, past, present and future.

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Norway, Peru, Poland, Portugal, San Marino, Scotland, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Vatican City State, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, France, United Kingdom

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