I was born in London, and have lived here for most of my life, though I spent three years studying in Vienna, Austria, training as a conductor. Before that, I studied Classics (literature, history and philosophy) at university in England. I am a music lover and have played the piano since I was five. I like meeting new people, discovering different places and cultures in order to get a broader perspective on life, and putting the world to rights over a beer. I try to be environmentally conscious; I've been a vegetarian for 6 years, and don't fly when it's possible not to.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

The first time I couchsurfed through this site was in a little German town called Meiningen, and it was a wonderful experience. I was there for a competition (which didn't go terribly well), but the people I met through couchsurfing and the great time we spent together in a pretty concentrated period made it an incredible trip. Since then I've couchsurfed in Sweden and the US and have never has a bad experience :)

Interests

Music is my huge passion, and I feel most alive standing in front of an orchestra. I spend most of my time practising, but otherwise you'll often find me cooking and eating and drinking with friends. Social justice and activism are also very important to me, and I've been involved in movements on issues from climate change and anti-austerity to women's rights and anti-apartheid. I'm also a big sports fan, especially of a small football club in England called Brentford, and I play five-a-side football twice a week. I also used to play rugby reasonably competitively, and I cycle a lot.

• humanities
• literature
• cooking
• beer
• vegetarian
• drinking
• clubbing
• flying
• music
• piano
• cycling
• sports
• soccer
• rugby
• history

Music, Movies, and Books

So, mostly - but definitely not exclusively - classical music (Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, Shostakovich, Chopin, Britten), but I'm a sucker too for Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan, Radiohead and Lorde.
Captain Corelli's Mandolin (the book, I haven't seen the film...) The Great Gatsby (likewise), The Day of the Jackal, The Hours (very good film version too), The Making of the English Working Class (heavy duty, but stunning), and a whole load of ancient writers: Ovid, Thucydides, Catullus...
The Sting, Psycho, La vita è bella, Withnail & I, Pulp Fiction, Taxi, On the Waterfront, Kes, Brief Encounter

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

For the sheer spectacular, sitting on the side of Mount Latmos in Turkey, watching the sun set over the Aegean sea, with ancient ruins in the background is hard to beat. It was part of a holiday in which I also stayed in Piran, Slovenia, and spent a night there with friends, drinking and looking out over the sea towards Italy in one direction and Croatia in the other, which was also priceless. It's hard to pick a single moment that has left me totally awestruck; I spent a week in Cornwall before my Finals, on a study trip with friends, which despite the stress was full of some of the best times I can remember; and my conducting debut at Glyndebourne was also a brilliant night.

Teach, Learn, Share

Vegetarian cooking, a bit of music, how to mend a bike tyre, English, German, Latin and Greek (no, not many people do...) Depends what you want to know!

What I Can Share with Hosts

I'm clean and tidy, and I'll pitch in with any stuff that needs doing. The first time I couchsurfed I helped my hosts move house! Otherwise, I'm up for hanging out and getting along: study-buddy or drinking partner - I'm on it.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Austria, United Kingdom