Hello! I'm Nana, like banana, or ananas if you're European, or 'spearmint' in various languages (or so I've been told). Beyond striving to be a fruity and minty person, I'm optimistic and try to be open-minded, I'm serious with my studies but silly for many other hours of the day, and I am a heavy tea-drinker, a big fan of swimming birds (because they're cool) and I like walking around in the city, going to the cinema for artsy movies, and cooking veggie meals and eating with friends.

I'm quite curious towards people and their nature as well as culture, and I'm very blessed that this is currently also my field of study more than an all-time favourite hobby.

Pourquoi je suis sur Couchsurfing

The chance to spend proper time with locals is always a great one, and I've really enjoyed the chances I've had in other places when I've travelled. While not a true local to Edinburgh, I've lived here for more than two years and consider it my second home. Being able to share that with bypassers and getting to know a few strangers on the way is something I'm very happy to be able to take part in!

My living situation makes it impossible for me to host anybody in 2016/17, unfortunately.

If you'd like to hang out in Edinburgh, I'd be more than happy to offer my company, given that it fits my schedule. Just send me a message.

If you're a tourist, I can supply a few 'coffee places' tips, and feel free to ask if there's anything. I'm more familiar with the Old Town and areas south of it. If you're looking to do some trips out of Edinburgh, ask away, too; I've had quite a few and have some ideas for daytrips if you're on a tight budget.

// Couchsurfing experiences //
* Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, November 2013: met Hong Phuc for coffee and a crashcourse in Vietnamese.
* Copenhagen, Denmark, February 2014: hung out with many great people at the weekly CS meetings, always a great ambience and energy those times.
* Lyon, France, March 2014: couchsurfed at Vera's and Monique's for some days while visiting Lyon, thanks so much for the helping hand(s).
* Le Havre, France, March 2014: had to go to Le Havre for a (sudden!) university interview and couchsurfed at Mohamed's at the very last minute - a really wonderful experience.

Centres d'intérêt

Sociology and psychology, or people's behaviour, feelings and perception of the world in general. Well, who isn't interested in this anyway.
Architecture. I know little, but I love it a lot: taking in new places by looking at their buildings, a lot, to the point that I'm usually behind when my friends & I go somewhere.
Languages. I used to be better on this "back in the days" when I had more time to read other things than for university, but I've always really enjoyed learning and studying langauges, and discussing grammar, too. I'm really keen to practice my French with any willing French-speaker. I've also studied basic Chinese for about a year, and while it's slowly slipping away at the moment, it's something I want to return to soon enough!

Playing the piano, mostly classical.
Politics. I like discussing, and I keep an open mind. (But yo, I've got opinions, just ask..!)
Food. In general. Cooking, too. But also eating... and for a little while, I've been really interested in the food industry as well, learning more about agriculture and farming, and how this ties into politics. But also... eating.

• culture
• humanities
• dining
• cooking
• coffee
• vegetarian
• organic food
• shopping
• reading
• music
• piano
• teaching
• languages
• psychology
• sociology
• volunteering
• last minute travel
• food

Morceaux de musique, films et livres

Music:
Older favourites - The Smiths, Wings, Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, Van Morrison.
Newer things: Tallest Man on Earth, Tina Dico, Frank Ocean, Iron & Wine, Laura Marling, Passenger, Michael Kiwanuka, Hozier, Andrew Bird.
Traditional jazz and swing. Plus Billy Strayhorn. Plus Oscar Petersson Trio. Oh and Gregory Porter, and Bill Evans. I don't know much about jazz, but I like it. Maybe not bebop. Give me time on that one...
As for classical: Chopin, Piazzolla, Debussy, Liszt, Ravel, Brahms, Schumann, sometimes Mozart, sometimes Beethoven, very often Rachmaninoff; love piano solo, duets, trios, quartets, bring it; sometimes orchestra music but it depends.

Movies:
Dramas of the serious-sombre-subtlely-dramatic kind. If we ever go to the cinema together, you'll figure it out pretty easily. I'm damn predictable, but I love a good emotional shake from a film with a beautiful soundtrack and cinematography.

Books:
Haruki Murakami, E.M. Forster, Ovid. I like those guys. Also somewhat a fan of Bret Easton Ellis not-newest works.
My latest reading treats were Anna Karenina and The Unbearable Lightness of Being. Recently started reading modern French literature, and I'm becoming a fan of Yasmina Reza and David Foenkinos.
Usually I love whatever I'm reading at the moment.
Just a vague idea: there isn't time for bad literature. Hence I rarely shy away from the path of Great Classics. I haven't thought this through. So far I've just found that when thousands of people have recommended a book through 50+ years, it's usually because it's REALLY GOOD.
I don't remember having regretted reading anything, ever.

Une aventure extraordinaire que j'ai vécue

The first time I ever rode a scooter started out in the laid-back atmosphere of a Vietnamese suburb but ended in the afternoon rush hour traffic of inner Saigon, Vietnam with my friend & teacher-of-the-day Max on the backseat after about an hour of practise. Still kind of amazed that I decided to give it a shot and also that we both survived! (but hey, here I am)

Enseignez, apprenez, partagez

LEARN: As a language and grammar nerd, it would be my greatest pleasure to introduce anyone to the wonders (/horribilities) of the Danish language. In case you are learning this language for more than fun and beer ordering, just let me know if I can help you in any way!

TEACH: If you are a native speaker of French, then I would love, love, love to practise my French face-to-face with you, especially if I can help you in return.

I've been studying Chinese (Mandarin) as of April 2014 and despite all humbleness forbidding me to say something out loud, it is actually my secret plan to master this language (or at least arrive at having a conversation one day ...) so any help/gentle pushes are also greatly appreciated.

SHARE: I like cooking. Do you like eating? Maybe we can think of something.
Ooh, actually I also really like shopping for food with people. I mean in supermarkets. (Well, in fact I just hate doing it alone). If you need a food shopping-comrade, do let me know...

Pays que j'ai visités

China, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States, Viet Nam

Pays dans lesquels j'ai vécu

Denmark, France, United Kingdom, Viet Nam