Visual Artist. Dreamer. Artistic alien. Pensive poet. Hopeless romantic. Wallflower. Spiritual sojourner. Culturist. Self-published writer of two poetry anthologies.

📍 Semi-retired lecturer off to a 7-months long sojourn. 🍉 you can check me out on instagram: @nooriskandar
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Some ruminations on travelling:

As a being in this world, I find myself always in nearness to this enigma of Life. Life is a mystery that you wouldn’t want to solve, not that you can fathom even a modicum of it anyway. But this inevitability of a search, this grasping on to each whisper of curiosity, knowing that you are always a Seeker first. The Seeker goes about with a quivering heart, restless at the thoughts of mortality and eventually envelopes himself in calmness of unknowing. A seeking heart is never still, it flutters, it wanders and wonders.

To travel is to come to terms with this consciousness of the spirit and the soul. To travel is to luck in on the epiphanies of the heart and mind. To travel is to awaken the ever elusive spirit that probes meanings to Life and its existential purpose. A spirit that feeds on doubt and thrives on discovery, a soul whose duty is to seek clarity.

And in this journey, you carry everyone you have met with you. I believe many forget that when you explore the world, it also means you are putting yourself out there for the world to explore you. You are carving Light out of yourself, exemplifying the Beloved in his manners and adab and trying to break preordained stereotypes, one smile and act of kindness at a time. You will begin to encounter and delve into depths of emotional territories. Our wounds, our hopes, what keeps us shivering at night, and what makes us sigh in daytime, you start connecting the dots. You soon understand that we are all one and the same. The same dust across that desert, the same sand in someone’s eye, the same flower that is going to die.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

The world is waiting to be noticed, I am laying my eyes and heart unto it. I am obsessed with the idea of an invitation to love. I am seeking to cross paths with other journeys- of dreams hopes, fears, wounds and tears.

Interests

Photography. poetry, ART, design, travel, nature, RUMI. languages, geography, cultures, foreign films. haruki murakami. long bus rides, auroras, jazz. john green. afterscent of rain. CURSIVES. olive and lilac. city lights on trickle of rain across vehicle's glass. star gazing. Persian architecture. vintage patterns. acoustic music. sea breeze. floating dusts.latenight walks. smiles. romantic texts. chai latte. living/leaving. deep conversation. MOON. indian culture. RASPY voice. brown paper. PRAYERS. sharp wit. CHAI. handwritten letters. Being longwinded if you can't tell already.

• culture
• literature
• music
• languages
• art
• nature

Music, Movies, and Books

I am a reality TV junkie. A mega Survivor, American Idol and X Factor fan. I used to run fansites for American Idol contestants. I met my foremost idol, Kelly Clarkson when she arrived here in Singapore few years ago. I enjoy soul, soft rock and jazz music. I am obsessed with the raspiness of Adele's and Haley Reinhart's voice. I would kill to have a voice like Sam Smith or Adam Lambert. I love to sing, in spite of my croak-sounding inflections. Angus and Julia Stone, Chris Garneau, Coldplay, Damien Rice, The Beatles, Air Supply, Lana Del Rey, Snow Patrol, Amy Winehouse, Joss Stone, Birdy, Fun, Christina Aguilera, Alicia Keys, Ed Sheeran, Jason Mraz, Bon Iver, Joshua Radin, One Republic, Aina Abdul, Yuna are some of my favourites!

Modern Family is my comedy fix, while Grey's Anatomy my melodramatic obsession. Derry Girls- such a seminal contemporary craving.

I love a good read and I write a lot when I travel. I always bring my Pocket Rumi with me on rides. Anything by John Green and Murakami is a winner. Khaled Hosseini and Forugh Farrokhzad give me hope. I am not fond of thrillers or mysteries. Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind, Requiem for a Dream and House of Sand And Fog are some of my favourite films.Bring me those tearjerkers.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Visiting 35 countries by 35!

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach you photography, writing and graphic design...and how to gain weight.

What I Can Share with Hosts

A punching bag! I'm kidding.

Some tenderness. A piece of my journey and have you in mine. We can share laughters, you can laugh at me. I'm a tad clumsy, yes.

I can take portraits of you and your beautiful country. You might even find yourself in one of my poems, creepily talking about you in metaphors. Graphic design, drawing, sketching, we can do it all.

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Kosovo, Macedonia, Malaysia, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Singapore

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