Left Australia in June 2014 to embark on the adventure of a lifetime in Brazil with the World Cup. Followed this with six months travel with my best mate around the South American continent before settling in Vancouver, BC in 2015.

We lived and worked for eight months to save money for the next trip, when we bought a dusty old campervan and set off on a three month road trip around the USA, starting with the incredible Burning Man Festival. At the closing of the year I returned to Australia and Singapore for a little time at Xmas with family and friends before returning to the country where it all began, Brazil, in January 2016.

I have been teaching English in a small town in rural Sao Paulo since then, finishing with the close of term at the start of July. I will travel throughout July before realising another lifelong dream of working at the Olympics! I will do some more travel after this before leaving Brazil in October.

I love Brazil, I love Brazilians, and I love Portuguese. Consigo falar nessa lingua se prefere, mas ingles e universal entao e melhor pra escrever meu perfil nessa lingua.

You can see more about me here on my blogs, photos and videos

Blog: http://www.travelpod.com/members/liamkirby
Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/54488096@N08/albums
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGG98K-qUnjRGt190GN8xfg

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Originally I was drawn to the idea over saving money on crazy hostel costs, but the reality is I've been working all year and have more than enough money to cover the trip.

I have had just two experiences thusfar with couchsurfing and they have both been unreal. I feel I have outgrown the get drunk in the hostel days and sometimes am appalled at the anti social behaviour I see there. That being said, I like to stay in hostels over the weekends for the social aspect but during the week I prefer interesting conversation and getting to know people more intimately. Since I can converse in English and Portuguese, this leads to developing much more interesting personal relationships that you can't get as easily in a hostel environment.

I am also exceptionally clean and love to cook, making a point of making a meal at the least for everybody that I stay with, and love sharing my experiences and learning about others. When I return to my home I look forward to hosting travellers there.

Interests

Without sounding cliche, sport and music are at the top. Football is an obvious one, but love my aussie rules and cricket as well.

Love all types of music but hip hop and progressive house are near the top of the list, though have been listening to a lot of folk and indie lately.

Besides those, I like stand up comedy, cooking, any sort of fine dining, drinking nice beers and wines and smoking the odd bit of green (though I don't know if that should be advertised on here, haha)

I like doing anything new that helps expand my mind. I know that is corny, but new experiences develop your brain and make you smarter, more appreciative and cognizant at once. I've been to rap battles, cooking classes, dress up festivals and done plenty of stuff I wouldn't otherwise normally do cause of this ethos.

• culture
• performing arts
• festivals
• environment
• dining
• cooking
• beer
• fine dining
• drinking
• traveling
• socializing
• music
• surfing
• sports
• cricket
• soccer
• world cup

Music, Movies, and Books

Hip hop, house, trance, indie, folk, punk. I listen to a lot of Aussie hip hop that I plan to share with the world.

Not much of a movie buff, but I do enjoy a big blockbuster full of special effects or an insightful and not overly dramatic documentary

I mainly read non-fiction, particularly interested in crime studies or sports bios. Though I read the occasional bit of fiction (Mum's a librarian) and light stuff like Tucker Max.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I have fed popcorn to a crocodile in South Africa while stoned and watched him twist his whole body to get it in his mouth, then vigorously chomp it. I could literally see the popcorn bouncing up and down inside his mouth!

One the way back to town after a desert party got cancelled in Northern Chile our car caught fire and nearly exploded. Myself and two friends decided to walk the rest of the way back to town (15km or so) in the pitch black and cold. The stars were incredibly vivid and we used them as guides. We were chased by coyotes and eventually found a very drunk local trying to dig his pick up out of a ditch. We helped him in exchange for a lift back to town.

Teach, Learn, Share

I guess two things I am quite knowledgeable about that others may not be are

1. Australian culture - why we are such bigoted, arrogant people, but at the same time incredibly friendly and welcoming (to certain folk!). We have that reputation largely because there is a lot of truth in it. We are unaccepting of many others and guarding of our way of life. I can look objectively at my people and discuss why this is a problem I think.

2. Rap battles. Yeah you read it right. It is my closet passion that not many know about. I can talk for days about the evolution of this from the street corners of NY to the youtube phenomena of international leagues today. It is pure entertainment, I encourage anyone with an appreciation for any sort of pantomime or performance to check it out.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Two years travelling experience across a wide range of different places. I know that sounds arrogant, but you don't have the experiences that I've had without learning something interesting worth sharing.

More importantly that sharing my own experiences though is what I crave to learn from others. I firmly believe that every new experience you have (even if in your own hometown) shapes and changes you, and you can always put that to good use.

I will always want to know more about the world and its people before I want anything material. These things come and go, experiences are forever.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Austria, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, France, Guatemala, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Portugal, Scotland, Singapore, Spain, United Kingdom, United States, Vanuatu

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, Brazil, Canada, United Kingdom