I'm a student studying philosophy and politics. I'm a curious person and enjoy learning about anything and everything.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

To see the big wide world outside the M25! Travelling isn't a great deal of fun when you're in a foreign city and don't know anybody: I hope that couchsurfing will allow me to experience other places in a more social way. Hopefully, I'll also learn about the lives of others (which are always fascinating) and pick up some nuggets of knowledge or wisdom (or even new skills).

Interests

• singing
• folk music
• hiking
• tennis
• history
• international relations
• journalism
• food
• sport
• conversations
• humour
• churches
• natural world
• the brain
• people and their stories
• philosophy of science
• political theory
• blackberries
• doing things
• pineal gland
• hill country
• cherry pies

Music, Movies, and Books

These are just some interests, I'm not sure that they exactly add up to a person:

Music: My music taste is sort of incoherent. I particularly like traditional music, especially Scottish ballads, which I have a habit of singing to myself in a slightly-out-of tune voice. In fact, I like a lot of folky music (semi-random sample of a Spotify playlist: Joan Baez, Leonard Cohen, Alasdair Clayre, Inti Illimani, Vashti Bunyan). I also listen to quite a lot of indie and jazz, and have a decent working knowledge of classical music.

Books: Anything big and a bit pretentious, especially if written by a Russian author! Recently read 'A Natural History of Beer' and am now catching up on Sally Rooney and WG Sebald. If I had to choose one book then it would be 'The Blue Flower' by Penelope Fitzgerald. I also have a particular soft spot for Agatha Christie. (As part of my studies, I also read a lot of stuff relating to philosophy, international history and cognitive science.)

TV/Films: I love Monty Python so so much and also like Scandi noir, Twin Peaks and period dramas, preferably set in 19th century English rectories. Louis Theroux documentaries and David Attenborough viewed with favour. I also like The Wire.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Nothing really! Plenty of time left, though...

Teach, Learn, Share

I can speak English, so can maybe? help with that, and would love to learn random words in return. (I have patchy knowledge of various other languages, but I don't want to embarrass myself...). I play various games like Mah-jong and bridge and really want to learn Go. Any tips about food much appreciated; I am more than happy to unearth the wonders of food in London. I enjoy long walks and political conversations, although I try to hide my idealism.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can teach you how to negotiate a London crowd in rush hour, should this be of any use. I can also bake passable tarts, pies and puddings when I remember to follow the recipes. I'm a slightly-better-than-average tennis player, and am usually capable of talking about various things that I don't know very much about with a great deal of confidence. I have a fully-functioning sense of humour but it can be a bit oblique: I will definitely share that with you, I'm afraid!