**Please read 'My Home' information before sending a request**

This is also me: https://www.couchsurfing.org/people/pe_and_andrew/ (Pe_and_Andrew in my friends list)

These days I travel, host, and surf with my partner, Marcelo (https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/smukii or Marcelo Castaneda in my friends list).

From 2007-2012, my previous partner and now one of my closest mates, Andrew, and I had a very busy couchsurfing lifestyle, surfing wonderful people's couches (and spare beds, and floors, and, randomly, once an NGO office in a heritage-listed town centre in Romania!), hosting many wonderful people in our home, and organising meetings and events in our hometown. When we separated, we decided to maintain joint custody of the profile: check it out in the "This is also me" link above if you'd like to see more references or photos of my past exploits with hosts and surfers.

I have fallen away from CouchSurfing a bit since 2012 but it is still part of who I am.

I've spent my entire adulthood flipping between studying, working, and travelling, never staying in one place for much more than 18 months.

My passion for exploring is my reason for being. Whether I'm exploring new countries, cities, landscapes, foods, cultures, languages, music - you name it - I'm never happier than when experiencing something new and eye-opening. I live to laugh and love to climb. I never grew out of swings, jumping in mud and puddles, or dancing in the rain. I adore being outside, especially in the wilderness, but am also happy to curl up on the couch for a few days reading books or watching whatever show I've become absorbed by most recently.

I love having drinks with friends and don't object to drinks with strangers. I hitchhike and pick up hitchhikers and I always have spare change to give to buskers. I would like to try busking but I'm too scared to put myself out there.

After a year volunteering in Tonga, Marcelo and I are taking some time just chilling out, being tourists for a while, and doing some sailing around the outer islands. We have no set plans but will most likely be heading back to Australia before the end of the year :)

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

In 2007, plans to travel around Europe in a camper van fell through. Remembering that my most enjoyable past travel experiences were on exchange living with a family in Germany, I set about trying to find a way to meet and stay with as many locals as possible. I found CouchSurfing, joined immediately, and have never looked back. So many of the people I've met through CouchSurfing are people I now consider among my closest friends.

Staying or meeting up with locals while travelling opens up a whole new world that is invisible to people who just stay in hotels or backpackers. Local knowledge is second to none and staying in people's homes is simply the best way to get to know a place and its culture.

While at home, hosting travellers is a wonderful opportunity to give that experience back to others. It also means that I am continually exploring the city I call home and seeing it through the eyes of a traveller.

Interests

I love skiing, climbing, camping, hiking, being on the water (much more than being in the water), and the freedom of not knowing where I'll end up next.

I'm fascinated by culture, society, religion and politics; especially how they combine to alter people's perspectives and opinions, and how they affect disease spread, care-seeking behaviour and public health in general. I'm equally fascinated by infectious diseases - the gorier the better!

After a spell studying political science, I'm pretty sure I swing towards some kind of combination between socialism and anarchism. While I accept and appreciate that I have greatly benefited from the perks of capitalism, I definitely don't agree that it's the best system. I'd like to learn more about sustainable and alternative living.

I am in love with music: I play violin and piano, enjoy singing, and am learning guitar. After spending my first three decades of life hating dancing, I'm finally learning to love it and am definitely enjoying learning to dance salsa with my chico Chileno :)

• culture
• books
• singing
• beauty
• dancing
• dining
• cooking
• wine
• partying
• drinking
• politics
• movies
• reading
• traveling
• music
• guitar
• piano
• violin
• hiking
• camping
• surfing
• skiing
• rock climbing
• languages
• political science
• religion
• science
• road trips
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies
I especially like quirky movies that are a little different and not predictable. I enjoy 'leave your brain at the door' action, grungy crime capers, and anything zombie. I secretly adore tacky romantic comedies - even when my brain screams at me that they're terrible, the romantic in me can't go past them! I absolutely cannot cope with sadism (and yet, I adore Tarantino... Go figure!).
Some favourites:
-Amelie
-Dean Spanley
-The Darjeeling Limited
-Inconscientes
-Un Cuento Chino
-O Brother, Where Art Thou?
-Juan de Los Muertos
-Love Actually
-Sueño en Otro Idioma

Music
If it has real instruments in it, we're off to a good start. Depending on my mood, I usually default to one or a combination of Cat Empire, Bob Marley, Jack Johnson, Jimi Hendrix, Metallica, Faith No More, Pearl Jam, Etta James, Howling Wolf, Flap!, Manu Chao, Gypsy Kings, Hector Lavoe, Joe Arroyo, or Celia Cruz. Lately, I've been attempting to learn the songs of Silvio Rodriguez and Victor Jara on the guitar (with varying degrees of success).

Books
I love them. All kinds! I read both fiction and non-fiction. I somehow manage to read a lot more while travelling than while living in one place. I love collecting and reading books from the countries that I'm in at the time.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Trekking through the Khumbu Valley and crossing the Cho La - nothing compares to the rugged beauty of those mountains.

Teach, Learn, Share

I love spending time with my surfers and showing them my city. Surfers are always welcome to join us for dinner. If they are up for it, they are usually welcome to join in whatever is going on while they're staying. In the past, I've taken surfers to barbecues at mates' and family's houses, dinner parties, hiking, camping, and rock climbing. I've done a road trip with an American couple from Brisbane to the Whitsundays and back again as well as two big road trips from Brisbane to Adelaide and back with surfers from Italy, Canada, and Spain.

I am in love with language. I studied German in high school and university and have spent many months travelling around Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Marcelo is helping me to learn Spanish. My German is still way better than my Spanish but now whenever I try to speak it, tonnes of Spanish words slip out! I don't get much opportunity anymore to speak German, so I'm always after some practice! I would love to eventually also learn French, Hindi, Arabic, Swahili, and sign language but baby steps, I guess...

What I Can Share with Hosts

I'm always up for sharing good food, wine, conversation, travel stories, and new experiences. I enjoy cooking for my hosts if they're open to it.

I love discussing music, movies, and books. Australia has some absolute gems and I'd love to find out what you'd recommend from your homeland.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Montenegro, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, Poland, Romania, Scotland, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, Canada, England, Tonga