I'm Jen. I'm Irish, I'm 32 and I live in Dublin. Right now I'm in my final year of studying to become a psychotherapist - a job that I absolutely love and am so excited to qualify in. I previously studied philosophy and literature and although I left academic philosophy behind I'm still really into asking questions and creating space for meaningful conversation. I'm an open and curious person and I love anything that helps us get a bit below the surface so that we can really share and connect.

I read a lot and I like to write and take photos. I'm an ethical vegan, so 100% guaranteed not to eat your cheese! Also guaranteed not to hassle you about your choices. I'm generally into exploring and adventure, adrenalin kicks and martial arts - I have a black belt in tae-kwon-do, which is how I met my partner Ciarán, also a black belt.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

⦾ Connection connection connection. I'm always looking for ways to connect more authentically with the people around me and the places I'm in. I think couchsurfing is a really wonderful way to do this while travelling.
⦾I've met some brilliant people through hosting and shared some really memorable moments with them. I'm so glad that CS has brought these people into my life. Unfortunately I can't host where I'm living right now but I hope to do so again in the future.
⦾ CS for me is also a great exercise in trust. For a long time I told myself that I couldn't afford to travel and felt really blocked by the limitations that come with that, so I find a lot of freedom now in exploring creative ways around this block. It's been so liberating for me to start really reaching out to people and find that they reach back. I love coushsurfing for the platform it provides to do this and the confidence it gives me to travel on low money and experience things that I otherwise couldn't afford to.

Interests

⦾ Philosophy, art, politics
⦾ Telling stories with words and pictures
⦾ Getting outside
⦾ Some photos here: https://www.instagram.com/jenokelly/

• arts
• literature
• photography
• vegetarian
• vegan
• politics
• martial arts
• languages

Music, Movies, and Books

⦾ I like music that moves me or makes me move.

⦾ I love books, especially character driven stories.
⦾ Some of my all time favourites are
◦Leonard Cohen's 'Book of Longing'
◦Patti Smith's 'Just Kid's'
◦Robert M Pirsig's 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance'
◦ Michael Cunningham's 'A Home at the End of the World'.
⦾ If you REALLY wanna know, I nerd about books on goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/58733482-jennifer-o-kelly

⦾ I recently watched Star Wars for the first time - I still have a long way to go before I can call myself a movie geek.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

⦾ Sky-diving in Cairns, Australia.
⦾ Hot air ballooning with a bunch of nuns and a friend in Cappadocia, Turkey.
⦾ Hitch-hiking solo in Ireland, Italy, France and Denmark.

Teach, Learn, Share

⦾ I'm always willing to share in any communal tasks.
⦾ I'm a qualified English language teacher so I can help with that if you wish.
⦾ I'm always open to learning all kinds of things.

What I Can Share with Hosts

⦾ Happy to cook, shop, clean, hang out and have fun, take your portrait or just respect your space, whatever you prefer.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Scotland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

England, Ireland, Spain, United States