CURRENT MISSION

SHORT TERM MISSION: to learn and practice conversational Spanish. LONGER TERM MISSION: to travel EVERYWHERE (ish) and experience wide cultural diversity.

ABOUT ME

Ive been a coiled spring waiting for the children to grown up to travel more widely. Now.. My children know everthing! (or so they think!)... so, its a little later than many to be starting independant travel but, maybe i will appreciate it all the more for the wait and anticipation. That spring (that is me) now hopes to jump around, from continent to continent, greedy to see as much as possible and a little of everything before going back to the favouites later.

Its a really hard thing to just answer 'about me'? and to know what is not enough and what is too much, but as i have been told off already by some out there for not having enough information i will go over for fear of being under again!. Sorry if you fall asleep ok? Just skip bits...

I generally work for not-for-profit, advise or support Organisations. I enjoy empowering others by providing them with the information or tools needed to make their situation better or, where that isn;t possible i am also happy to fight the 'right' corner. I studied Law for my first degree and then lectured Law for the following two years at the same university. My masters degree is in housing, as that is the area I ended up feeling passionate about but, as is usually the case, the rewarding areas ain't the most advantageous specialism but I do get job satisfaction (some times)
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I have also work in charities assisting asylum seekers and refugees and studied counselling, psychotherapy and some hypnotherapy. I realised from this, that the solution to people's internal problems, lay within But sometimes people need some help to explore themselves and find them.

I have a loving family and am pretty happy with my lot but I do have these terribly itchey feet that just keep wanting to hit the road.

If you continue further down this profile you are likley to find a good few spelling errors. Sorry about that, another thing about me is that i am mildly dyslexic. This is the reason why, although i feel confident to lecture law at university level, im not sure i would be of much use as a TESOL teacher and learning Spanish, my current mission, might be a challenge right now. But.. Isn;t life all about challenging yourself, giving things a try and taking a chance?
My husband is Nicaraguan and a Spanish teacher (he helps me to spell in English too)

PHILOSOPHY

Enjoy debating the rights and wrongs of complex issues, study, research, give careful consideration to many topic BUT grab every opportunity to laugh.
Life is for living, with responsibility towards others, but still to be relished. Laugh, Dance, Joke and Laugh some more. I even give consideration to the odd Karaoke.??

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

We are living in between the Uk and Nicaragua at the moment. When in Nicaragua I sometimes have space, but mostly share with others so its difficult to help with a couch. I know the place really well now though so i can offer advice on places and things to see, travel and/or meet up to chat. When in the UK I have a nice peaceful two bedroom home. My son is staying often though so we struggle for space to host.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Stayed with several people I met via the site and met lots of others who all offered invaluable information which allowed me to fast forward the 'exploring the area' process, significantly to find the spots which suit 'me' and were all lovely people. I would say the whole process has been a positive one for me. I have hosted within Granada, Nicaragua and met people for drinks.

Interests

HUMAN GEOGRAPHY - This is the area in which i would LOVE to study. I would like to one day do my PhD in a related topic and i beleive my travel will give me valuable insight into this. It is a real Long-Term goal however at the moment. I think it will take me a while to find something im passionate about and then formulate what question I want to address. In the mean time i will just Love Every Minute of it. Experiencing different cultures to my own, meeting people, trying new foods and drink and a different way of living. I am sure that my own culture could benefit significantly by adopting some of the principles of some so call 'less developed countries' and i doubt i will ever get bored of just feeling some sun-shine on my skin (under a high factor sun protection cream of course)

I took the definition of Human geography from wiskopedia incase anyone asks me what it actually includes.
HUMAN GEOGRAPHY is a branch of geography that focuses on the study of patterns and processes that shape human interaction with the built environment, with particular reference to the causes and consequences of the spatial distribution of human activity on the Earth's surface.

PHOTOGRAPHY - Ive had no training but i LOVe taking photos and seem to have a ´¨good eye'. I have thousands of photos at home and thanks to digital Photography can take even mroe these days. When traveling i try to have my camera with me at all times when safe to do so and take hundreds of snaps.

DANCING: Love to dance, not saying im that great at it but i enjoy it and I but dont usually pull a crowd of people pointing and laughing!
Most forms of music and people dancing will make me want to join in. Been learning Salsa for a while and hope to practice that in Latin America. Just as happy to have a go at a waltz as shuffle to some nice reggae beats. Lots more dances to try to pick up and I can;t wait.

PETS: (Pet FREE Now) I don;t have any pets at the moment as my lifestyle would not be fair on them (although i feed the birds outside my kitchen window, does that count??) but i have previously had a good mixture of lovely pets as part of my family. I feel most at home with a lovely playful kitten/cat and one who snuggles up on my lap at night in front of the fire and purrs away. (So much easier to please than people. Im sorry, but you know its true. :-)
We had a lovely dog and the children have had Lizzards, rabbits, guinea pigs. Even had a pony when i was a child (that was really hard work but worthwhile experience and we bonded - If you have been horse riding if might not understand what i mean but others will.

There are more (if you are still awake by here and want to know more just ask me.)

Basically "I Like Lots of Stuff" x

• pets
• cats
• dogs
• birds
• rabbits
• culture
• photography
• dancing
• waltz
• causes
• environment
• drinking
• traveling
• socializing
• music
• karaoke
• teaching
• geography
• law

Music, Movies, and Books

BOOKS I have soo many books which i treasure. Most are non-fiction and I often joke that if I had actually read them all I would be really well informed. Unfortunatly I haven't but nevertheless I continue to buy more... One fo these days...
I do also enjoy fiction but generally only have time to really get into one when i am away from home ( like when im traveling).
Very slow reader, down to the dyslexia again but not always a bad thing, i don;t miss much of the small print on documents!

MOVIES - Loads again. I have broad tastes in most thing including films. My favourates are probabilly commedies. All time favs are: Arthur (Dudley Moore & Liza Minnelli, Austin Powers (all of them but 1 & 2 favs), 40 first dates, Pretty Woman (I know its not original is it) I like Friends and some regular soap operas on Uk TV (Well i could lie but whats the point I DO, i can also read heavy newspapers. We don;t need to be too serious all the time do we?

MUSIC
I will consult my CD collection and list some of the favourites in different categories. I like almost all music and it would be far easier to list the ones i don;t like. i.e I am not too keen on Country & Western, Bashment or Techno But ive had fun nights when this was the main music anyway. As long as everyone is having a nice time i can join in and still enjoy myself.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I am coming back to this as i want to give it some thought and add to it but some thoughts below....

There are a good few amazing things ive seen but as for what i have done that is truely Amazing??????? I would say having my two children was a pretty amazing thing. Even if my body just did it automatically and created a new life without me telling it very much at all, Its still pretty incredible thing that my body did and thats a part of me. Right? :-).

One 'great' thing ive done is, registering on here (i think, as its early days)! But, If i manage to meet even a tiny fraction of the interesting and friendly looking people whose profiles i have seen and if i manage to experience something of their culture and daily lifes and/or share some of my own culture and life with them, I Will Be A Very Happy Girl.

Teach, Learn, Share

THINGS TO TEACH & TO LEARN I could not say what you could learn from me, if anything because we are all in a different place of learning, living, experiencing and reflecting on things. However, if you do learn something from me, you are very welcome to it and i imagine that it will have been a fare exchange, as i am sure i will have learnt something new from you too.

I very much doubt you will learn how to spell correctly from me or gramma, as i am terrible at that. Sorry. x

TO SHARE WITH OTHERS How much i am looking forward to meeting, talking to and showing some people around. So i thought i would share some information about where i live etc.
Showing around might have to be limited to my home city of Leicester if im working but if you catch me in between contracts or in between traveling, i would be glad to show you other great cities, for example i used to live in Oxford and it is a facinating place to visit. I know quite a few of the main places to see but also some more remote ones after living in the City for a very nice 5 years.

The 'things to see' in my own city vary depending on your interests and age but, if we get chatting, i can try to work that out and let you know. If its not the same interest as mine (they are pretty broad so you might be surprised!) i may well still know someone else who knows if we have things of inteest and where they are. Its one of the larger cities in England and is very multi-cultural. It is the first city in England where White English Born people will be in the minority and i LOVE that about it. I have friends from many different countries already who just live nearby.

TOO LEARN - Obvioulsy lots and lots and lots..... But i am still working on it and ill keep trying. Current Mission to Learn Spanish. Have always been so envious of people who can communicate with someone in another language but have not previoulsy managed to get one to STICK. This is a long held ambition which i will achieve this year. Its Exciting.

Countries I’ve Visited

Barbados, Belize, Canada, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, France, Gambia, Gibraltar, Greece, Guatemala, India, Ireland, Israel, Jamaica, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, Tunisia, United States, Zimbabwe

Countries I’ve Lived In

Nicaragua, United Kingdom