I'm Kelly, I have been living in the North West of England since I was 19. I now live in Brighton on the south east coast.

I am originally from London, and I have travelled around the UK a lot from a young age, because of moving house, visiting family, and for work.

I absolutely love Art and Travel, so I enjoy visiting new places to explore and photograph them. When i visit a city I always look up, its interesting to see the amazing architecture that houses that ordinary shop or fast food restaurant. Art deco buildings particularly interest me, and those which have an interesting history!! I could take photographs of stunning views - be it cityscapes or stunning landscapes all day.
I love experiencing local cultures, cuisines, and try to learn a bit about the place I am at! I adore people watching!!

I have spent more holidays in North America than in Europe!! I recently spent 4.5 months teaching English in China and then traveling in SE Asia. It was the most incredible experience of my life.

I love to chat, and some might say I talk too much- but I am a bit shy when I first meet people!! People say I'm funny, though I think they really think I'm a bit mad. I'm definitely not 'normal'! But who wants to be normal?! travelling and meeting new people has boosted my confidence and I love making friends from all over the world.

I'm not as fit as I'd like to be, and not very cool, but I like to enjoy life. I like to try new foods because I think they will be tasty, or because I might not get to try it again - rather than wonder if its any good for me I am a bit of a dork too - not that fashionable, and geeky looking - but I've always been like that. My true friends and family love that about me...maybe I will meet some like minded 'square bears' on my travels....

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I joined Couchsurfing to meet people while I travel. I joined Couchsurfing when I travelled around the USA for 3 months 3 years ago. Before I went, I created trip plans for each place, and connected with many hosts before hand, and arranged some couches to stay on and swapped details to arrange meet ups when over there. During my trip, I received emails from many other 'surfers with advice, and such also...so I never felt alone anywhere!

During the three months I met many Couchsurfers from all over the world. I got to learn about the places I visited from a local's perspective, and to hang out with other travellers who were in the same places at the same time as me. I made many new friends.
I have since arranged local meet ups for couchsurfers in my home town, and met people in Asia too.

Interests

Travel, and learning about new places, and meeting new people.
Film (especially 80s),
Music- from classical, to pop, to indie to hard rock and dance,
reading - all sorts (anything with a good story),
art - public art/galleries/architecture/natural landscapes - anything that makes me smile, and makes for a good picture,
eating and drinking in quirky places, cooking allsorts- trying new recipes, and making up silly meals that taste really good :)

• arts
• architecture
• music festivals
• dining
• cooking
• recipes
• drinking
• traveling
• socializing
• music
• hiking
• history
• parks
• film
• music concerts
• art museums
• art galleries
• music,
• history and culture

Music, Movies, and Books

The Cure, Placebo, Ellie Goulding, Florence & The Machine, Marina and the Diamonds, Garbage, Michael Jackson, David Bowie, Faithless, Radiohead, Nirvana, Marilyn Manson, Madonna, Lady Gaga, Pet Shop Boys, 90S dance, too much to list

Forest Gump, Shawshank Redemption, The Goonies, Devil Wears Prada, Groundhog Day, Sister Act 1 & 2!, The Green Mile, Cool Runnings, Ferris Buellers Day off, early Adam Sandler films, 80s movies especially John Hughes gems...more I cant even think of now!

Books - anything John Grisham, Jojo Moyes, autobiography's, crime novels, war time novels...travel..

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Travelled across the States by myself...
The best practise for coping in a situation outside of my comfort zone was spending 16 days on a Green Tortoise bus! Sleeping on a bus which converted into sleeping compartments overnight...camping in the national parks...with 26 strangers...very few showers...no make up!! Totally not something I could have done years ago.
After this I travelled, by plane, greyhound, megabus, amtrak and stayed in hostels, airbnb and couchsurfed all over the USA...Loved it. :)
Most recently I travelled around SE Asia by myself, overcoming many cultural differences. It was Incredible!! Something I love to talk about.

Teach, Learn, Share

Through couchsurfing I learned that I can interact with anyone....from all different backgrounds. That people are good, and friendly and happy to share with you.
My experiences have taught me that there are people who simply want to be kind, and to get to meet others and learn about them.
I learned about how people live their lives in different places, what their passions are, where they have or haven't travelled, and talk about subjects from religion to politics to the condition of the sidewalks in the States. I got to try local cuisines and to cook English food for my hosts, and tell them out the customs etc in the UK, and make comparisons.
I taught my hosts Cockney Rhyming Slang! About real sausages and bacon! What 'taking the mickey' means!! Haha

What I Can Share with Hosts

Me - I am very honest, and will always say it as it is, happy to talk about my experiences, but mostly I want to listen to others - I love to hear about other people (who they are, what they do, where they have been)
I can tell people about where I am from, answer any thing they want to know about the UK, best I can, from my perspective.
Hopefully plenty of laughs!!

I can cook, and would love to repay kindness with a home cooked meal, or treat you to a meal out to a good restaurant if you don't want to brave it!! I am very respectful of other people's property, and treat my friend's homes as I expect them to treat mine.

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, Cambodia, Canada, China, England, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Ireland, Myanmar, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, United States, Viet Nam, Wales

Countries I’ve Lived In

China, England