CURRENT MISSION

On top of my day job my main passion is photography. I'm always trying to squeeze in time to visit new places and meet new people. The world is too big a place, with too many people to meet therefore my view is I better start meeting them now!

ABOUT ME

I work in the development field, working in economically deprived areas helping the people and the area achieve sustainable development through education, training, and employment. I have also recently launched my photography company www.phatography.org

PHILOSOPHY

Live life to the max, as everyday is a new day. Each day will come and go, so never fixate on yesterday and tomorrow, because NOW will soon be gone!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I'm pretty new to couch surfing

Interests

Passions: photography; learning languages; meeting with friends and discussing the world in all its glory; playing and watching football (soccer); tennis, and sports in general. Love meeting new people and experiencing new places and cultures; nothing worse than just 'doing the tourist thing' for me, although sometimes this must be done!

• photography
• education
• surfing
• sports
• boxing
• soccer
• tennis
• teaching
• languages

Music, Movies, and Books

Like: Amy Winehouse, Coldplay, Feist, Oasis, Joss Stone, the Kooks, Julie Newsome, Jazz, Soul... amongst other things - open to everything. Books I've enjoyed: John Irving, A Prayer for Owen Meany - brilliant! Memoirs of a Geisha, The God of Small Things, Toni Morrison's Beloved. Recently enjoyed films - Pans Labrynth, The Motorcycle Diaries, Anchorman, Zoolander, Stranger than Fiction.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I learned about the slowly eroding world of the Geisha in Japan firsthand through a friend who was the son of a Geisha hair artist. I was invited into one of the oldest 'Okiya' Geisha Houses in Kyoto. Breathtaking.

Going back to Vietnam for the first time after 27 years - truly amazing.

Teach, Learn, Share

So much to teach, learn, and share. Difficult to do it in a box on a website... however... enjoy life, and if you're not sure, just do it anyway!

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Cambodia, Canada, China, Czech Republic, France, Ghana, Greece, Italy, Laos, Mexico, Netherlands, Philippines, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Japan, United Kingdom, United States