As my grandfather put it, "Globe trotting itinerant worker" - I can hold my hand up to that. I haven't lived in the UK since 2010, and have no intention of heading back that way soon. These days I consider myself a Cultural Refugee...

I have done a lot of different jobs over the years, partly due to moving around so much (and graduating in 2008, the year the structural issues in our economic system become clear, rather aggressively). I have also been trying to find something that plays to my strengths and keeps me interested, and I have had a lot of fun in the process. I decided at a young age that life was all about acquiring stories, and I feel like I have certainly been doing that.

I also love learning languages. I speak Mandarin ok, and I am keen to meet language partners and practice together. Jetzt arbeite ich an meinem Deutsch. И мисля, че скоро трябва да науча български.

For those seeking a host......
Please note:
If you wish to stay with me, or just generally if you are new to Couchsurfing, please read the following article;
http://www.angloitalianfollowus.com/why-couchsurfing-is-free-is-a-myth

I am careful about money as I am doing a full time masters (in Agricultural Economics), so please don't expect to just arrive here and be fed and watered. You will need to buy your own food from the shops. I am more than generous with my time, belongings and food, but I dislike feeling taken advantage of.

Also, if you want to get shitfaced, I do not judge you, but I would prefer you checked in to a hostel. Hosting hungover people is not much fun, and I don't want to feel like the fun police.

That said, if you come with hash, I will love you forever. Hash doesn't give me such a hangover (even weak Sativa grass slows me down for a few days), and generally really happy to have a smoke with good company if I don't have to be productive the next day.

Also, please note my name is John, I took my grandfathers name after he passed away. That is why the names are different in my previous references. It's still me, but the name got more awesome :)

I'm also no longer verified. Hopefully there's enough stuff on here to show I'm a real person.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Over my years travelling, I have received untold generosity. Without such generosity, I would never have been able to achieve the things I have.

Now, whilst I don't run a B and B, I do appreciate just how massive a help having a safe and friendly place to stay is, and how a bit of local help/advice can easily help you avoid wasting money (and thus prolong your trip and improve your chances of success in general).

I have been helped, and now I want to give back whenever I have the opportunity to.

And of course, it is a great way to meet awesome people, and to share some hard-won useful advice ("Advice is a form of nostalgia... ", although I still always forget to wear sunscreen)

It's also a nice way to feel welcomed in new cities, and possibly to get (and share) some language help. If you write me a message in German or Chinese, you're probably going to get your request accepted. Just saying ;)

Interests

- Mandarin, Deutsch, Languages generally (next year I will begin Bulgarian)
- Fitness
- Personal development (mine and assisting others)
- Motorcycles (riding, touring, playing with... often breaking, and then fixing.
- Computer games (I only play them in German now, and/or offline Co-Op mode with friends)
- Cooking international/random food

- Deep discussions on putting the world to right, and how things happen.

Usual topics:
"De-growth" - Transition to sustainable economies / Anti-consumption etc / Inter-generational Equity / Scenario development - Future planning / Over-population / Future Food Security (proudly Neo-Malthusian, and genuinely concerned about current trends)
The absence of reality in current politically correct discussions - Great believer in Realpolitik, and by extension, "Realeconomik"
Better forms of governance - I have no political affiliation, and consider myself a radical (open to all theories - but expect to be challenged, regardless of your position), but see clearly the inherent structural problems

• animals
• festivals
• cooking
• vegetarian
• fitness
• modeling
• partying
• clubbing
• traveling
• cars
• soccer
• racquetball
• business
• communications
• squash
• gaming
• playstation
• degrowth
• 420 friendly

Music, Movies, and Books

I have a lot of random film and TV, but I really like weird or obscure stuff, and Disney/Studio Ghibli. Animated media is just amazing, it is able to convey so many more nuances.

Music wise, I love dubstep, chillstep, melodic dubstep, most contemporary dance... and Chinese rock music... and Deutsch Hip-hop/spoken word.

And my new favourite thing is sneaking this into parties when people aren't looking. Treat your eyes, ears and brain!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCpLWbHVNhk
(Mandelbrot set deep zoom in HD)

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I am quite proud of my 9 months (Summer 2015 to March 2016) where I ran a voluntourism operation in India, taking it from fairly bad shape to a really healthy place by the end, and doing some incredible things for the local people in the process.

I also had an incredibly difficult but successful 8 weeks travel/work across multiple countries this summer (2018) including 2 festivals, lots of wild camping, and some very creative packing/storage solutions. I have a strong love/hate relationship with travelling, as I'm sure many others do too. However, mI am always proud when my plans work out.

Teach, Learn, Share

As said, I love to practise Chinese or German, or have an excuse to use them. I enjoy speaking with people of all levels, and reject the idea that the only good practice is with natives.
Currently enjoying Netflix in German, which works very well, so if you fancy trying that out with me I can highly recommend it.

I'm also happy to do any physical activity and games you have in mind, and would appreciate an invite. I used to love playing squash, and asides from a few injuries, love playing frisbee/football etc. If you would like any self-defense pointers, I used to help run a sparring/self-defense club in China with my Bulgarian brother-from-another, Elizar.

What I Can Share with Hosts

- Delighted to cook, even for large groups, although the food might be a bit eccentric. I'm happiest working through random stuff left in the fridge, "Ready, steady, cook" style.

- Good practical skills - I enjoy helping mend or fix most vehicles or household problems if I can see a simple solution.

- Good eye for detail, and good at helping streamline processes and give some good suggestions to improve businesses. I am most happy sitting in a hostel, restaurant or bar, chatting with the owner or manager about what is awesome, and giving some constructive advice on what could be even better.

- Travel advice, stories etc. I'm quite handy for question and answers about travelling Asia, having made it my nomadic home for nearly a decade, and have seen/heard a lot of cool things, and problems to avoid.

- A competent Co-Op computer game player. I don't really like online games, nor do I spend that much time playing computer games, but I love smashing through a co-op campaign with someone. FPS mainly, but anything fun but challenging will interest me, especially with good enthusiastic company!

- Whilst I don't like to feel that my only use is English (as a NES), I am an experienced English teacher and can encourage and support even the least confident speakers to have deep conversations about things they are interested. I would appreciate if we also switched languages sometimes (if you happen to speak German/Mandarin), but I know that English is the language of both travellers and CS

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Greece, Hungary, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Netherlands, South Africa, Swaziland, Turkey

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, Cambodia, China, Germany, India, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mozambique, Thailand, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Viet Nam