CURRENT MISSION

Searching for les mots justes, buried treasure and a hat I really, really like.

ABOUT ME

I'm currently tracing a meandering line across the globe with my wonderful wife Mhairi - we're soon to be heading to Central and South America.

We're both previously been English teachers with the British Council in Cairo, Myanmar and Palestine - it's something we love doing, letting us do something we love.

I used to be a journalist back in the UK and writing took over my life at one point, but now we're at a kind of a cordial truce - like the cold war except with more dialogue and less doomsday devices.

Though teaching pays the rent, Hunter S Thompson said 'I have no taste for either poverty or honest labour, so writing is the only recourse left for me.' That kinda applies for me too.

Right now I have only a vague idea where I'm going, or when, whether I'll stay forever or want to come straight back. Also, kind of worryingly, I'm not entirely certain if I'll ever stop moving. But somehow this also makes me extremely happy.

PHILOSOPHY

If you can see yourself in others, then I think you can't go far wrong.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I found out about CS while on my travels in India, and have taken my first steps as a surfer in SE Asia and Korea.

As yet I haven't hosted anyone...

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Hopping around Seoul, diving into Bangkok and generally finding the type of people that give me strong evidence that the human race might actually be worth it.

Interests

When I'm not stuck wondering why anything exists at all (I mean, WHY?!), I get absorbed in discovering what makes people tick and finding out the nitty gritty of just what an awesome place we live on. This covers science, nature, sociology, sport, music - talk to me about anything and I'll be pretty much enthralled I reckon.

In the past, I'd probably have ended up trying to write about it - nowadays I'm more content to simply listen.

Other than that, I really love playing guitar, though I'm getting rustier as I get older!

• writing
• singing
• chess
• music
• guitar
• hunting
• scuba diving
• bungee jumping
• sports
• journalism
• science
• sociology

Music, Movies, and Books

I think at one point in my life I owned both a Ministry of Sound collection and a Celine Dion album (though I don't remember actually buying either). At 18 I loved the Libertines to distraction. Today I love Beirut, The Books, Yndi Halda, the Mountain Goats and the Hungarian dance music that my old housemate Tim sticks on when he's stressed or drunk.

Movies: The Third Man, La Haine, Black Cat/White Cat, The 400 Blows, Dr Strangelove, Igby Goes Down, Inland Empire and Indiana Jones are some favourites.

Books: Kundera, Tom Wolfe and all the New Journalism folks, Pirsig made me want to change my life, some Dylan Thomas, some Beat poets, Orwell of course, and some stuff like Jonathan Safran Foer. I think I've also read every Terry Pratchett novel, which seem to fit me just right.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I've done a bunch of interviews, but getting into the UN camps in Nepal to talk to the Bhutanese refugees was among the most humbling and amazing.

That's other people who were amazing, though - perhaps for me bungee jumping 140m over a Himalayan gorge must be up there.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach you a bunch of stuff on guitar, if you'd like. I often dragging it around the world with me, so please put it to good use!

On the flip-side, if you know Spanish guitar I'll probably bug you till you teach me some!

I guess I could help you improve your English too - its what I do after all, plus it was kinda central to being a journalist so I know most of its evil quirks!

And feel free to beat me at backgammon or chess - that's the only way I seem to learn.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Cyprus, El Salvador, France, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Laos, Malaysia, Mexico, Nepal, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Palestine, Peru, Rwanda, Scotland, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Uganda, United Kingdom, United States, Venezuela, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Egypt, Myanmar, Palestine, United Kingdom

•