CURRENT MISSION

to do something brave everyday

ABOUT ME

I have just returned from a two year trip that I wanted to do for such a long time and have come back with lots of fresh ideas for community engagement.

PHILOSOPHY

I believe every person has the capacity to do good or bad (in some cases to great extremes) but I think there are a series of choices that lead us there and help us cross certain lines. I think it is important to recognise we all have this capacity and are not untouchable. I think a good person with honourable ideals can become corrupted with distorted power and similarly a person who has formed a habit of being cruel can also decide to make the most selfless gesture.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I have just returned from a big travel and am not in my own place. As soon as I get in a space of my own again, I will be delighted to open my couch for surfing:) In the meantime, I am happy to exchange stories, provide a friendly face to other travellers coming to London and am keen to share my knowledge to those who need it in community engagement ( I work in a young offenders prison in UK and am aware of issues in expectation and communication). I might be very busy for a while but if am not able to meet up, will do my best to help orientate, even though I feel a bit like a visitor myself at the moment ;)

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have hosted couches and my longest was for a month when I took in a guy I was in a performance art workshop with...we had a great time and we are still good friends now. I have been using couchsurfing more whilst on a big trip recently undertaken and I have met some really cool people who I am still in touch with outside of couchsurfing.

Interests

I am interested in performance art, art installations, political theatre, creating art ie, painting, charcoals etc (even though I do not profess to being a budding impressionist, I just enjoy the process:) learning new languages, debates, process of protest, the study of power corruption, community responsibilities, singing, climbing ( a very new addition), being outdoors, scuba diving, storytelling, quarn, card games (admittedly, i get competative and that's why I avoid casinos)

• arts
• singing
• performing arts
• capoeira
• cooking
• traveling
• painting
• outdoor activities
• surfing
• scuba diving
• boxing
• rock climbing
• languages
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

Love dark movies with interesting twists, not so keen on romcoms or standard hollywood flicks. Will also watch comedy, cheesy horror movies and random childrens tales: Oldboy, The Orphanage, Tale of Two Sisters, Shaun of the Dead, La Haine, Delicatessen, Amelie, Sympathy for Mr Vengence, Lady Vengence, Labyrinth, The Never Ending Story, ID, Up, The Cove, Deathproof, Natural Born Killers, Pans Labyrinth, City of God, Kung Fu Hustle, Nightwatch, Daywatch, Zatoichi, Fairwell my Concubine

Listen to a wide range of music now (was a bit elitist as a teenager and would only listen to heavy metal, ha); pharcyde, fairuz, beardyman, akwid, bat for lashes, bessie smith, betty davis, chase & status, cyprus hill, damien marley, darondo, dawn penn, dizzee rascal, dj shadow, dj krush, dj doumpa, echo & the bunnymen, erma franklin, eva cassidy, francoise hardy, the fugees, gogol bordello, the herbaliser, r2d2, ivy queen, janis joplin, jimi hendrix, kings of leon, lady saw, leonard cohen, nina simone, rage against the machine, pitchshifter, patty griffin, peaches, pendulum, prodigy, prince, portishead, planet hemp, orappa, richard cheese, roberta flack, roni size, roots manuva, ruby johnson, screaming jay hawkins, seasick steve, tricky, shantel, son house, stylus rex, tom waits, the white stripes, natacha atlas

Was obsessed with factuals, now am back on indulging fiction in balance: Zizeck's essay on Violence( once you get past the overly academic tone, an amazing commentary), Shogun, Tai Pan, Gai Jin, The Noble House, King Rat, Skinny Dip, Fire Under the Snow, A Long Way Gone, Shantaram, Memoirs of a Geisha, The Beach, Reaperman, The Alchemist, Out, The Millennium Trilogy,Lord of the Flies, Animal Farm , 1984, Island of Dr Moreau, How the Dead Live, Marching POwder, Black Like Me, Life of Pi, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl's short adult stories, Touching the Void, Cloud Garden, Persepolis, Epileptic, Maus, Lobster, Brown

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Seeing a whole beach pulsing with thousands of yellow butterflies in the aftermath of a storm on a pacific beach in mexico.

Teach, Learn, Share

I work with violent offenders and have a lot of practise in dealing with conflict and drug users. I teach children (age 8-13) english through drama technique, have grown up with plenty o tasty cooking. Used to assist in teaching beginner tai chi. I trained in performing arts and have some games that are great to play in order to get to know others and share moments with. I would love to learn more about resolving conflict, get more active (climbing, surfing) and if you know about boxing, capoeira, gracie style etc...I would love to learn more and or spar when more learned. My real enjoyment is storytelling, the old stories that have been forgotten by many.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Croatia, Denmark, Egypt, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Tunisia, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Russian Federation, United Kingdom

•