CURRENT MISSION

Journey through Latin America from Mexico as far south as I can, learning Spanish, about the people and cultures as I go.

ABOUT ME

I'm outgoing, friendly and honest with a good sense of humour. I like to discuss serious issues: politics, literature, art, philosophy. But all with a sense of perspective and humour as I believe that we have one life and should try to enjoy it as much as possible (whilst being responsible to other people and our environment so that others can enjoy their life as much as possible in whatever way that is).

PHILOSOPHY

Hard to encapsulate, liable to regular revisions and new editions – best expressed around 1:00 in the morning after a few glasses of excellent wine.

Kindness and generosity would feature as would having fun. Perhaps also an appreciation that this, the only life and existence we can be sure we have, is a pretty serious gift. But often the most appropriate way to do homage to this gift is to not take things very seriously.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have surfed across many couches in my time and have hosted many friends either coming to visit Brighton for an extended period or when between houses or travelling.
After graduating from university I spent four months couch surfing round England to catching with friends and considering what I should do with my time that would also pay the rent. I then found a job I really wanted to do in Brighton - working in the arts & cultural projects team of the City Council so I settled there for several years.

Interests

Travelling and meeting new people with a good sense of humour who challenge and expand my perspective. I'm very sociable and also interested in many different things, so I'm happiest exploring the world with friends old and new. This could be wandering an unfamiliar city with new friend just met on a train, or sharing a beer with an old friend and putting the world to rights.

• arts
• literature
• environment
• cooking
• wine
• beer
• working out
• meditation
• politics
• traveling
• surfing

Music, Movies, and Books

Music, literature, cinema and art are all very important to me. I studied literature at university and wrote on the nature of art and my theory of its place in our culture and the best way to engage with it. I read a lot; across fiction and non-fiction.

I listen to a lot of music across many genres and used to dabble in music journalism (as well as film and theatre reviews). I am always on the look out for new music, anything that creates a groove or a melody in a way that I have never heard before, or anything that is just amazing.

I love films and have spent and indecent proportion of my life watching them. The fusion of image, word and music combined with modern cinematic wizardry that can allow film makers to almost pour out their unrestricted imagination, seems to me the art form of our age.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

After arriving late at night, awaking in a very rural school in Malawi to find dozens and dozens of little faces peering in the windows with a mixture of curiosity and laughter at our strange appearance. A generation of children who had not met a white person before; who over the following days we discovered lived in what we would consider abject poverty but had more energy, smiles and unaffected joy in life than I can remember seeing before.

Teach, Learn, Share

I have a qualification in teaching English, and lots of experience, from teaching the Spanish Civil Service in Madrid to postgraduates at Essex University. So I could help anyone wanting to learn or improve their English.

I enjoying cooking and would like to cook for you.

I'm fairly knowledgeable about working out and meditation, two habits I intend to keep up whilst travelling and could offer advice on these to beginners.

I'm very easy-going so if you have time I would love to hangout but if not I am independent, respectful and can entertain myself without disturbing you.

Countries I’ve Visited

Algeria, Austria, Cambodia, Colombia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, France, Germany, Guatemala, India, Italy, Japan, Laos, Malawi, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Denmark, Spain, United Kingdom