My name is Jess, I am 26 years old. I was born and raised in London, and I still reside here regardless of my time spent around the world.

I studied Psychology at the University of Leeds and then went on to study a masters degree at King's College London, University of London. Currently I work for Plymouth University as a researcher, looking at improving mental health services in the UK.

I am a trustee of a charity, The Karira Trust, that aims to improve educational facilities in the developing world. Currently we are completing a project in Kenya to renovate a school and we managed to install a water pump in the school as well.
I am also a group leader of another charity, HCPT, which takes disabled and disadvantaged children and adults on pilgrimage holidays to Lourdes, France. In my role as group leader I lead a youth group to Lourdes each year to do craftwork, games, music and other aspects of care for the children that attend the trip.

At the moment I am still working in London, however in 2017 I will be applying to study for my PhD - my first choice university is in Seoul, South Korea, which is my main motivator for studying Korean. I am still a beginner at the language, however I hope to reach conversational level after taking exams in Korean proficiency.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Many of my friends that I have met around the world whilst travelling used couchsurfing and always have good things to say about travelling this way. I feel like it is an excellent way to meet new people and get to know a place through the eyes of someone that lives there - a more personal way to get to know a place.

Interests

I do enjoy learning languages, but I am not the worlds most natural linguist and have not yet mastered another language to fluency. In the past I have turned my hand at French, German, Italian, Swahili, British Sign Language, Hindi, Japanese and Spanish, yet I probably only know a handful of phrases in each language. I am currently pushing forwards still with French and am self-studying Tagalog. I am beginning to study Korean and hope to reach conversational proficiency so I can study there.

I enjoy cooking and love food - I enjoy travelling so that I can try food of different parts of the world! I am particularly fond of Asian cuisine.

I like to ski, snowboard (but I am not great at it) and surf (again not very good). When I was at university, I used to do more of these extreme sports - now that I am working, and after a few injuries, my extreme sports time is reduced. I do not play ice hockey, but I enjoy watching the NHL when I can. I did take ice skating lessons to see if I could join a team... but again, I'm not naturally gifted on the ice haha!

• writing
• anime
• reading
• tv
• music
• asian pop music
• skiing
• snowboarding
• languages
• exploring
• ice hockey
• asian food

Music, Movies, and Books

I like all types of music and have a very eclectic taste. My friends know me as the source of information on Asian music within our friendship group - I am very plugged in to KPop, K Hip-Hop, JPop etc. However I also like Rock, Indie, Grunge, R&B, Rap and a wide range of other genres from around the world.
Currently my favourite artists are BTS, NCT, EXO, SHINee, Monsta X, Kendrick Lamar, Beyonce, CHVRCHES, Beirut, Arcade Fire, Foals, Submotion Orchestra, HONNE, Arctic Monkeys, The Age of L.U.N.A, NAO and many more

I can't think of a favourite movie - I have not found my favourite one I think? I enjoy TV series' that are thrilling, so murder mysteries or shows full of suspense, such as Sherlock, Luther or The Following. I also like series' such as Suits, or comedies like It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. I like watching anime of many kinds, sports animes are something I am into at the moment - Haikyuu is a firm favourite.

My two favourite books are American Gods by Neil Gaiman and The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I taught Maths for three weeks in a rural school in central Kenya - the children in my class were aged 13-16 and I was 20 years old at the time, they still were probably better at Maths than I was even though Maths is one of my strongest subjects. Their thirst for knowledge and willingness to study was a real eye opener for me and helped me to become more involved in charities dealing with education in the developing world.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, Japan, Kenya, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, Qatar, Samoa, Spain, Sweden

Countries I’ve Lived In

New Zealand, Philippines, United Kingdom