I love travelling, and I love meeting new people. Currently on a 3 month trip around Colombia, mostly staying and working through Workaway (https://www.workaway.info/workawayerprofile.html?w=joelmann) - so far I've worked at a butterfly sanctuary in Cali, and a coffee farm in Quindio.

Friendly, sociable, and (very) tidy

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Exploring a new country means getting to know its people! One of the things I most enjoy about travelling is meeting new people, and being hosted by someone offers the best opportunity for doing so.

Life is too short to experience everything. The next best option is to learn from the experience of others

Interests

TRAVELLING!
Central America, Europe, Asia, North America, South America, and counting...

SPANISH
Learnt a bit at school, and since then have spent a month in central america, and a month in Madrid, and 3 months in colombia.

I find languages really interesting, and am always keen to talk about them with speakers of other languages - from the similarities and shared words, to the philosophy of how the language you speak shapes the way you think.

SPORT
Football, basketball, tennis, pool, darts, skiing, scuba diving

PERSONAL FITNESS
I enjoy keeping active by regularly going to the gym, going running, and practising yoga, alongside keeping an interest in nutrition and supplements.

MUSIC
I spend a reasonable amount of time listening to music (see below), and used to play the piano but haven't found much time recently!

Always very keen on hearing new music so please share your favourite tunes! Classical music is something I'm only just getting in to, so would be especially interested in listening to some of that too.

FILM
Slowly making my way through all of the films to have been nominated for the Oscars.

HISTORY
A more recent interest, but something which I'm learning more about every day and a main reason for travelling through Europe with its rich and interesting past.

READING
Set myself a target of reading at least 2 books a month (until I go back to university, when the pleasure reading will probably take a pause...). I also like to keep up with the news, especially politics.

• culture
• books
• acting
• fitness
• yoga
• running
• drinking
• flying
• politics
• news
• movies
• reading
• traveling
• billiards
• darts
• music
• classical music
• piano
• scuba diving
• skiing
• sports
• basketball
• soccer
• tennis
• history
• languages
• volunteering

Music, Movies, and Books

I enjoy different genres but some favourite artists are: the smiths, arctic monkeys, david bowie, the strokes, radiohead, james blake, foals, kasabian, kanye, hot chip, kendrick, muse, bonobo, floating points, moderat.

I keep a written list of my favourite movies precisely because there are too many to remember! Some examples: pulp fiction, toy story, the matrix, saving private ryan, platoon, the dark knight, a bug's life, pride, silence of the lambs, shawshank redemption, lord of the rings, gladiator, django unchained, rush hour, the 40 year old virgin, stuart: a life backwards

Favourite books are Siddharta (Hesse), 1984 (Orwell), Thinking Fast and Slow (Daniel Kahnemann), A History of the World (Andrew Marr), Life (Nick Lane), The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald) and of course Harry Potter.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Flying loops in an airplane. Great fun at first, although a bit nauseating after a while...

Volunteering in El Salvador. My first real eye-opening experience into other cultures and lifestyles.

What I Can Share with Hosts

The meaning of life - from the philosophy part of my degree. That was (partly) a joke, but I would genuinely be happy to share my philosophy knowledge with anyone who wanted to listen!

Personal fitness, weightlifting, and nutrition info.

Interesting conversation with a native english speaker for anyone looking to practise their english.

Anything about the UK - culture, politics, and everyday life. We don't all drink tea.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, England, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, India, Italy, Montenegro, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Scotland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, United States, Wales

Countries I’ve Lived In

Spain, United Kingdom