I'm a martial arts and drumming enthusiast born and raised in Bristol, England. I haven't always been in to travelling and have spent much of my life in a study, sport and work routine. I graduated from a Biochemistry degree at Sussex University in Brighton and have since worked as a volunteer and subsequently as a volunteer team manager in east Africa. It is in this corner of this unfathomably large and diverse continent that I discovered a passion for community work and learning language. Now I've been fortunate enough to find time and funds (however limited) to tour the continent and to break away from my familiar routine. Bring it on.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I'm currently on a cycling tour which started out in Blantyre, Malawi and which I aim to complete in Gabarone, southern Botswana. I have extended family in Botswana, many of whom I've never met and so my main incentive to keep on peddling is to finally get to see my cousins.

I've been camping, couch surfing and occasionally enjoying a good kip in a guest house along the way. I have a passion for delving in to new environments and learning through emersion not only language, but about new cultures, perspectives and beliefs.

Nothing is more exhilarating for me than to rock up in a new town and to have a sensory overload of new music, food and dialect hit me all at once. I enjoy the challenge of exploring and problem solving and I'll never be found with my head in a guide book.

That said, it is sometimes very refreshing for me to share my new experiences with those who are at home in these places, and couch surfing is surely the best way of achieving this.

Interests

Drumming; martial arts; climbing; cycling; drawing; learning languages

• arts
• books
• performing arts
• dining
• cooking
• traveling
• drawing
• music
• cycling
• camping
• surfing
• sports
• martial arts
• rock climbing
• languages
• tourism
• volunteering

Music, Movies, and Books

Fat Freddy's Drop; Elbow; Gigi (Ethiopia); Yemi Aladale; Dorro Bucci; Oumou Sangare; Damian Marley; Stevie Wonder. Seven Years in Tibet; Diamond as Big as the Ritz and other short stories; Jack Reacher Series. Step Brothers; Napoleon Dynamite; Lost in Translation; Groundhog Day.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I cycled on a 1980s steel-framed mountain-bike from Blantyre in Malawi to Capetown South Africa, crossing the Kalahari and Namibian deserts. Complete an utter madness, I loved (most) of it.

Teach, Learn, Share

Drumming; Brazilian Ju Jitsu; Kiswahili

What I Can Share with Hosts

Great Mexican and Swahili cooking; intriguing stories of times spent living and working in east Africa

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Botswana, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Tanzania, Zimbabwe

Countries I’ve Lived In

Kenya, Tanzania, United Kingdom