CURRENT MISSION

ABOUT ME

Born in Japan, childhood in Germany, educated in United Kingdom with a brief stint in Kenya.

Currently training in software engineering after being a journalist and short documentary filmmaker for a decade covering social affairs, gender politics, international news.

PHILOSOPHY

You can idolise a culture and appreciate it, fuse them to turn yourself into a hybrid of cultures but you can never be it 100%. Traveling is only a window to find out someone's personal experience, whereas living in a new country is a whole new experience to traveling that shapes your identity of who you are. Couchsurfing in various homes in one city for a few weeks can give you an idea of what these issues of identity means to you and the person you are visiting.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I really value international cultures accompanied with its differing perspectives and opinions, and surfing and surfing can continue to add fruit to such worldly experiences :)

++PLEASE NOTE++
I currently do not have a spare room and no longer have a sofa bed, so cannot host. I’m open to meeting people in a safe environment nonetheless!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I first went couch surfing in Georgia in 2012 and have had other great experiences since, either surfing or meeting people. In London I have mainly hosted friends, but would like to accommodate other surfers once my brother moves out by autumn 2014 :)

Interests

Foreign Affairs, Gender Politics, Human Rights, Post-Conflict Societies, Migration, Specialist Education, Social Work, Psychology & Therapy, Cooking, World Music, Dance, Cultural Censorship.

• culture
• documentaries
• dancing
• education
• human rights
• cooking
• coffee
• politics
• news
• traveling
• socializing
• coding
• stamps
• music
• world music
• surfing
• teaching
• freelancing
• psychology
• social work
• software engineering
• software development

Music, Movies, and Books

This list is endless! But in a nutshell: 20th Century French piano music, Golden-era Jazz, London's alternative classical music scene, resistance music, female-fronted metal, UK grime and drill, old skool hip-hop etc.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Spending a full day from 7am to midnight with Reverend Jesse Jackson. Everything that happened in Iran. Working in Ukraine during the Crimea referendum.

Teach, Learn, Share

As a filmmaker you're always learning from what you encounter and make the stories accessible to others.

Countries I’ve Visited

Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Hungary, Iran, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Germany, Japan, United Kingdom

•