My partner Phil and I are about to embark on our first round the world journey (hopefully first of many)! We've done some travelling around the US and Europe before we met, and some smaller trips since then, but this is one we've been planning since we got together 3 years ago. We plan on spending some time visiting friends and family in the US, and then will head on to Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and then will head back to the UK to do our CELTA certification to teach English abroad.

A little bit about us -

We're pretty easygoing people. We both love making art and appreciating art others have made - we love museums and galleries. We're big movie buffs. We enjoy a good card or board game. We also love anything involving food, like (trying our best) to cook, especially a meal for our hosts during our stay.

Phil is English (he has the accent and everything). He is a gentle giant. He has run numerous marathons, directed a charity for the last three years, and loves to get lost in a book. He used to be an art teacher and worked with kids with special needs. He's basically a saint and makes me look bad by comparison. Except that he snores, so I've got that on him.

I'm American, and in 2014 moved from the US to the UK for a previous relationship, and ended up staying permanently. I do not run marathons. I enjoy video games (on PS4) and some other nerdy things. I've just graduated with a Bachelors in Fine Art. You can see some of my art stuff on www.instagram.com/mellatimerart - I also regularly perform playing guitar and singing. I won't have my guitar with me, but if you have one I am basically a glorified jukebox that plays cover songs that don't quite sound like the original and leave you wondering why you didn't just listen to the original.

For our hosts:

We're tidy folks who will respect whatever living space we're in. We're very curious and love exploring a new city. We love animals. We're friendly and love to spend time with hosts, but we always appreciate people having their own lives, and we can easily make ourselves scarce when our hosts are busy. We're also not picky about sleeping on the floor, in a bed, or on a sofa. We have compact sleeping bags but we just purchased them, so they've yet to be used and are still in their stuff sacks - as a host myself I know there runs a risk of bedbugs etc., but ultimately we've brought them for camping. We do have silk sleeping liners if anyone wants us to use those. As for going out, we don't really drink apart from some red wine now and again, but don't mind being around or going out with people who do.

note: this has been my profile since 2009, but you may see references for me alongside other people I've lived with, and therefore hosted with in the past. Phil is new to Couchsurfing as we moved in together around the pandemic, so my references do not mention him, however he has done a great deal of travelling, and has hosted and met a great deal of my friends from abroad. Having worked in charity and education he is a very well rounded person who I believe will fit right into the world of Couchsurfing.

我为什么加入 Couchsurfing

"Happiness (is) only real when shared."
- Chris Krakauer

We really want to dip into the "real parts" of the places we're stopping, and the people are the most real parts of anywhere. And maybe more importantly, we want the chance to give back to the places we stop, and these kinds of connections make it possible to do that. Since we've not always been able to travel the last several years, hosting has allowed us to do this, and now we want to continue connecting as we move across the globe.

兴趣

Music, guitar, singing, making art, listening to podcasts and audiobooks, writing, reading, travelling, walking, meaningful conversations, movies, hiking, museums, personal growth.

• arts
• writing
• books
• singing
• dining
• cooking
• vegetarian
• movies
• video games
• reading
• traveling
• blogging
• painting
• drawing
• music
• guitar
• cycling
• hiking
• camping

音乐、电影和书籍

****Movies*****

Mel: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Pulp Fiction, Amelie, Grand Budapest Hotel, 2001 Space Odyssey, Silverscreen Classics, Studio Ghibli

Phil: Lost in Translation, The Dark Knight Trilogy (because Batman), Amelie, Untouchable, Studio Ghibli

****TV Shows****

The Bear, Breaking Bad, Stranger Things, Ted Lasso, The Office (US), Rick and Morty, Money Heist, Modern Family, Poker Face

****Books****

Mel: The Dark Tower series, Liz Gilbert books, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Daring Greatly, The Poetics of Space, Siddhartha, Unbound by Kasia Urbaniak, Hyperbole and a Half, Northern Lights (The Golden Compass), School of Life Books, The Dutch House, Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Phil: The Outsider, Neil Gaiman books, classic short stories, Craig Thompson graphic novels, Shakespeare, School of Life books, Oscar Wilde, The Alchemist, The Shepherd's Life, Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Sherlock Holmes

*****Podcasts****

Mel: Radiolab, This American Life, No Such Thing as a Fish, Hidden Brain, Invisibilia

Phil: BBC Radio 4. Desert Island Discs, The Moral Maze, Friday Night Comedy, Evil Genius, Empire Film Podcast

****Music****

Mel: Johnny Cash, Iron and Wine, The Beatles, Brandi Carlile, Nick Cave, Sigur Ros, Simon and Garfunkel, Cat Stevens, Eva Cassidy, John Prine, David Bowie, Ben Howard, Jason Isbell, Kishi Bashi, Radiohead, Janis Joplin, Folk/Americana, Indie, Yann Tiersen, Ludovico Enaudi

Phil: Kings of Convenience, Nick Cave, Explosions in the Sky, Ben Howard, Bon Iver, Alt-J, Elbow, Jamestown Revival, St. Germain, U2, Ray Lamontagne, Public Service Broadcast, Low Roar, REM, Jose Gonzalez, The xx, Mumford and Sons, Erland Cooper

我做过的一件不可思议的事情

Phil: Phil ran a 24 hour ultra marathon. This is not your usual marathon, but one that you do over a span of 24 hours reaching milestones as you go. Phil is only a mild masochist though, as he had the option to carry on for another 6 hours, but decided to tap out at 50 miles. I got to see him limp across the finish line in triumph alongside a crowd of young to middle aged folks who were walking like they were 90 years old by the end. I cannot commend him enough for this (but much prefer to wait at the finish line).

Mel: For my degree show at university I spent 2 months building a whole room based on phenomenology - a philosophy on the nature of being. It is best experienced rather than described, and you can see a 360 interactive experience of it here: https://www.360studioradar.com/360/MelVT/index.html

教，学，和分享

Mel: ask me about phenomenology or memory. These were my dissertation subjects, as well as the subject of my final project in art school. (Phenomenology sounds like some weird superstitious culty word, but it's just a branch of philosophy around the nature of being).

Phil: Phil worked for a charity that provides a 24-7 listening service for people who are struggling or feeling suicidal. He was a listener for 6 years, and the director of his local branch for 3 of those years. If you ask me, he's a great listener at heart, but got a lot of training in the matter, so has a lot to offer in those terms - either sharing his knowledge or providing an ear. He is also a big fan of existentialism, which is a branch of philosophy that ironically came from Phenomenology (my area of interest). He also knows a bit about endurance with all those marathons he's done. Also he's British so ask him about the weather. They love that. And queuing.

我可以与沙发主分享些什么

We love to cook and exchange recipes! Often we like to cook with our surfers and hosts, and exchange our favourite dishes. My partner and I are both vegetarian, and we don't mind being around meat, I just mention this because all of our recipes are veggie. And I promise you, you don't want us to cook you meat. It would be like letting a toddler bake a wedding cake; we would only be able to do it with the best of intentions.

I play music, and I much prefer hearing other people to hearing my own voice, but I always find collaborating or sharing tunes can be really fun!

We love movies here and I carry some with me on a USB if you'd like to have some, or we can simply make some recommendations. The same goes for podcasts - we have some good recommendations and are always looking for some more good listens.

We're happy to share time with our hosts if this is something they want/have time for, but can easily be independent and explore on our own.

We try to carry one or two of our favourite games with us so we can share with our hosts if you also enjoy board and card games.

我游览过的国家

Belgium, Cambodia, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, North Korea, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, Viet Nam

我居住过的国家

United Kingdom, United States

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