I have recently been travelling in South-East Asia, finding volunteer work in various places, like a meditation centre, oyster farm, permaculture project and more. I love meeting new people and experiencing new cultures! Before that I was living in central Java for 2 years, studying traditional music as part of a cultural scholarship programme. It was a dream come true!
I'm originally a Scottish lass, though my family moved to Oxford when I was young, which is where I grew up.

Por qué estoy en Couchsurfing

One of my hopes for when I travel is to meet new, friendly people. This will be my first time travelling, and rather than wandering aimlessly around, I think it would be great to meet people who can give insight into the local area and culture. I'm also interested in a trade/exchange culture - where communities can exist by pulling together their resources and helping each other out rather than relying solely on money. I believe that an act of kindness can create a chain reaction of kindness and positivity, and by meeting like-minded people and exchanging happiness we can extend warmth and love to our surrounding environments.

Intereses

Music is pretty much my life, I love playing instruments and listening/dancing to music. I'm mainly a violinist but at the moment I also love to sing, play trumpet, guitar, flute and traditional Javanese gamelan music.
I also really live being close to nature, I'm at my happiest when I'm near a river or in the woods or up a mountain. Back in england I lived on a canalboat, which is such a perfect way to be near to natural goodness. I'm interested in learning about edible and medicinal plants, and I'm really keen to learn about growing them too. I would love to have a plot of land in the future where I can build and grow my own produce. I am also interested in learning how to build from natural materials - I've done a little bit of cobbing before, and I want to do more!
I'm a social person, I really cherish happy times spent with my friends and family. I love being around people that make me feel comfortable and happy, hanging out or jamming or just being silly.

• cooking
• reading
• music
• nature
• chilling

Música, películas y libros

Music: Bob Marley, Queen Ifrica, Beres Hammond, Chronixx, Burning Spear, Sizzla, Tarrus Riley, Sugar Minott, Fatoumata Diawara, Sona Jobarteh, Tinariwen, Ravi Shankar, Catriona McKay, Flook, Planxty, Pentangle, Curved Air, David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Wishbone Ash, Caravan Palace, Balkan Beatbox, Django Django where do I stop? the list goes on...

Movies: I like comedies and ghost stories (kind of!) and anything with a gripping storyline or beautiful scenery/camerawork. Past favourites: The Labyrinth, Hero, Donnie Darko, Shaun of the Dead, Requiem for a Dream, Trainspotting, Lock Stock and two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Grease, Tank Girl. Maybe you can tell which order I liked those films!

Books: not sure if my favourite genre, it mainly depends on the style of writing. I love fantasy books, when I was younger I read Terry Pratchett, Philip Pullman, J.K Rowling and J.R.R Tolkien. I love the old classics like Alice in Wonderland, Mary Poppins and the Jungle Book. At the moment I'm reading H is for Hawk by Helen MacDonald. Its an autobiographical account about training a goshawk. Such a random topic but her style is really likeable and readable. And I'm learning a bit about falconry, which is something I never even wanted to do. Bonus!

Algo increíble que he hecho

Recently I helped out with a friends project here in Indonesia. It was a musical collaboration with a local school for children with disabilities. They already have a band, so we organised a gig, puppet making workshop and art exhibition for them to help promote their school, and we collaborated on a few of their songs. The children have a range of mental and physical challenges, but that doesn't stop them being so talented, creative and musical. Working with these guys was so inspirational! As a violin player I would be devastated if anything happened to my hands, but seeing one young guy playing awesome keyboard with his feet made me rethink my ideas of what's possible. There is still a lot of misunderstanding surrounding the capabilities of people with disability, so it was really amazing to be part of something that was demonstrating to the community what can be achieved through a little patience, kindness, encouragement and understanding.

Enseña, aprende, comparte

Back in England I taught musical instruments, mainly violin and trumpet, but can help beginners with piano and guitar too. I really love playing folk music, learning and sharing tunes and songs from all over the world. I love sharing experiences and hearing people's stories.
I love cooking, and learning new recipes!

Qué puedo ofrecer a los anfitriones

I hope I can share good company, my music, my cooking and a positive and peaceful environment with my hosts.

Países que he visitado

Belize, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Isle of Man, Italy, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Wales

Países en los que he vivido

England, Indonesia, Mexico, New Zealand, Scotland