Current mission? Learn more languages while retaining those which I've already learned; Spend more time practising the Violin, Trumpet, Taekkyeon and Shōtōkan Karate, enjoy academia and make the most of my life!

About me? Mostly Harmless.

Formally, I've completed degrees in Mandarin Chinese, Linguistics, Arabic (Modern Standard), Modern French, Philosophy and Human Evolutionary Biology. I'm still studying.

I have a hugely complex, yet (I hope and try for it to be increasingly so) reasonably consistent internal philosophy which I try to work on and 'improve' with every move I make in life. Nonetheless, I can't really type it all up here and I don't want to bore those of you who don't want to know anyway, so let's save this for face-to-face conversations.

My head is a very busy, occasionally messy, yet always interesting place to be. I am fanatically passionate about languages; If you can teach me a little of any language it will be greatly appreciated.

I believe that one MUST be honest and open in their dealings with other individuals, as this behaviour minimises misunderstandings and offence caused.
I find it difficult to deal with people who don't work on improving themselves as a priority, as well as with people who tend to take things too personally.

I am myself (adaptably so), and shall remain as such even if the whole world changes.

I do have something resembling an external philosophy, a life-philosophy if you will - Connais-toi, toi-même, peut-être?
I'm not sure that I do in fact know myself so well, but I certainly know a lot of what I do believe, and of what I don't. :)

I believe that everyone, no matter their education, age or culture, has something unique to teach everyone else. Everyone has something to tell you that you don't know yet.

I feel that much of the beauty of love, life and liberty are to be found in their finiteness.

I believe that to claim full knowledge of our incredibly beautiful, complex Universe is to trivialise - indeed belittle - our existences.

I believe that Organised Religion has caused more harm to more people that any other human invention.
I am not against private belief in a god, supernatural being or gods, with the proviso that such private beliefs do not cause anyone any harm.

I believe that an individual who impedes on the rights of others forfeits their rights to an equal extent.
I also firmly believe that one should practise compassion, kindness and forgiveness in all forms, in all dealings with others as much as is possible.

I believe that people must be honest and open in their dealings with others.
Openness and honesty will allow people of totally different backgrounds and cultures to understand one-another without miscommunication or causing offence; I believe that this is not yet practised enough.

One cannot control what happens to them, but can control their attitude toward what happens. With careful cultivation of this attitude, one can prepare themselves for what may happen to them and thus mitigate any possible negative effects.

One can never be sure of where one's limits lie, but we certainly encounter plateaus of development. What is important is to constantly strive to surpass the plateaus one reaches. Always keep moving forward, because there is always room for improvement, even if it's improvement in unintended aspects of one's being or direction.

I am myself.
I accept all people for who they are, holding that everyone deserves to be themselves and to express that freely - unless they necessarily harm themselves or another in the process.
If I succeed in having led a 'good life', I shall have laughed, loved, lived and learned as often and as much as possible, before leaving the world better off for my having lived in it.

I believe that if one is able to increase the overall wellbeing of people (themselves and others), then their life can not have been in vain.

Anything else?
Message me. Talk to me.
Ask me!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I love getting to know people of all walks of life.
Having surfed and hosted a lot, I'm now living in Canberra and can't host consistently.

Happy to help (or meet with) budget travellers, so-called 'true' surfers, general travellers and everyone in between when I can.

My couchsurfing experiences have been great, so far.

2011, I surfed for approximately six months in a variety of countries including but not limited to Israel, Italy and Spain, as well as bits and pieces here and there.
It was a really cool experience, and I got a feel for the differences in the Couchsurfing Community in various parts of the world.

2012, I surfed 3 months straight in Hong Kong through to the Calendar New Year.
Hong Kong is definitely one of my favourite Couchsurfing places so far - the people are incredible, and the city itself really does have a LOT to offer.

2013, I spent January travelling down through Vietnam. Vietnam is awesome for Couchsurfing, EXCEPT in DaLat. To complicate matters, DaLat is my favourite place in Vietnam.
February to early July were spent in Hong Kong.
From the 9th of July onwards, I was travelling along the West Coast of Australia.
In September, I moved to Turkey. I lived for a few months in İnegöl before moving to İstanbul where I hosted and surfed up until the Middle of April 2014.

2014, In mid-April I moved from İstanbul to Israel.
In early July, I spent a weekend in Budapest, which was an awesome experience; Budapest is a gorgeous city and the food is amazing! Hungary more generally is certainly a place I'll need to spend more time.

2015, I spent a couple of weeks in Sydney before returning to Canberra for University again.
In June & July, I went back Hong Kong. It was fun, nostalgic, and far more humid than I had remembered!
In November, I was in ShangHai for a few days, before travelling to the HeNan province of China for a month of Chén-shì Taì-jí-quán studies and Mandarin Chinese practise.

2016, through January I travelled through China (ChengDu, GuangZhou) to Hong Kong, whence I had a flight back to Sydney.
In February, I returned to Canberra for University.
In September, I spent roughly a fortnight in New Caledonia, before returning to Canberra.
Despite the (shockingly delineated) sociocultural divide therein, Nouméa in particular I loved.
In the last few days of December, I arrived in French Polynesia for a two-week trip. The Windward Islands are an odd mixture of stunning natural beauty and socioeconomic inequities, far more so than I experienced in New Caledonia.

In January 2017, I returned to Canberra.
Through June and July, I made a brief trip to Kunming, Nantong and Shanghai for a teaching program and to practise my 普通话。
In July, I returned to Canberra again.

In March 2018, I moved to Nouméa. I was able to host much more readily!

As of 2019, I have returned to Canberra to continue studying. I hope to be able to continue hosting while I'm here!

Interests

American Sign Language (ASL), Arabic (العربية الفصحة), Bā-jí Quán (开门八级拳), Biology, Cantonese Chinese (廣東話), Chén Taì-jí (陳式太極拳), Classical Chinese (古文), Ethics Philosophy, Farsi (فارسی/دری‎‎), French (le français), Hindustani (ہندوستانی/हिन्दुस्तानी), History, Judo (柔道), Kenjutsu (剣術), Linguistics, LoBokator (ល្បុក្កតោ), Mandarin Chinese (普通话), Modern Hebrew (עברית), Modern Japanese (日本語), Modern Korean (한국어), Phonetics and Phonology, Running (cross-country and sprints), Science, ShaoLin (少林拳), Shōtōkan Karate (松濤空手道), Singing, Taekkyeon (택견), Theology, Tonetics and Tonology, the Trumpet, Veterinary Medicine, the Violin...
Literally, Everything.

My only problem with that is that I tend to suddenly start learning whatever comes to attract my attention in an erratic, unsystematic and eclectic (albeit enthusiastic and thorough) way - but I'm doing my best to improve in this aspect.

• reading
• trumpet
• swimming
• climbing
• classical violin
• evolutionary biology
• cross-country running
• asl (american sign language)
• msa (modern standard arabic)
• modern french
• modern hebrew
• standard chinese
• taekkyeon (턱견)
• é-méi quán (峨眉拳)
• shào-lín quán (少林拳)
• shotokan karate (松濤空手道)
• modern korean

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies:
Science Fiction, Romance, Musicals, Documentaries. I quite enjoy stuff by Simon Pegg.
- Argo
- Arrival
- Harvey
- Intouchables
- Jesus Christ Superstar
- Little Shop of Horrors
- Mary and Max
- Megamind
- Predestination
- Rango
- The Imitation Game
- The Man from Earth
- The Road to El Dorado
- The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Series, Shorts, and Serials:
Anime, Animations, Manga, Peculiar Comedies, Science Fiction.
- Angel Densetsu
- Blame!
- Death Note
- Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
- Great Teacher Onizuka
- Kenji
- Kokou no Hito
- Naruto
- Noein
- Rick and Morty
- Samurai Champloo
- The Breaker
- The Breaker: New Waves
- The Curious Geographical Explorations of Jasper Morello
- The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.
- The Fairly Odd Parents
- The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
- Toradora
- Wallace and Grommit

Music:
Jazz, Classical Rock, Pop', Classical.
- Alexander Markov
- Frank Sinatra
- Jascha Heifetz
- J. S. Bach
- Muse
- Niccolò Paganini
- Queen
- The Beatles
- W. A. Mozart

Books and Authors:
Science Fiction, Fantasy, Biology, Science, History, Languages.
- 姜峯楠/Ted Chiang
- A. C. Grayling
- Alexandre Dumas
- Brave New World
- Contact
- Daniel Dennett
- Iain Banks
- Ringworld (Complete)
- Sam Harris
- Sherlock Holmes (Complete)
- The Anubis Gates
- The History of Western Philosophy
- The God Delusion
- The Good Book
- The Moral Landscape
And last but not least, the Discworld series, by the late great Terry Pratchet.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Before University, I took one year off to train for and run a 325km Charity Ultramarathon.
The Charity for which I raised money was the Fred Hollows Foundation.

In 2011 and again in 2012, I attended the 2nd and 3rd University Scholar's Leadership Symposia in Pattaya, Thailand and Bali, Indonesia respectively.
I made many friends, shared ideas and knowledge with amazing people from all over the world and (hopefully) walked one step closer to a happier world, as theatrical as that sounds.

I was married in July of 2013, and divorced in 2017.
People change, and even those who are wonderful can become lost in themselves. Whatever it was or wasn't, my failed marriage was an amazing learning experience - but the lessons from which I had already grasped and, honestly, didn't really need or want to experience in such a fashion.

My amazing partner, who puts up with my many oddities; our first child, or course, who was born in January 2018 (review pending)...

I've had some very interesting work experiences; feel free to ask me about them in person.

I also feel that my Couchsurfing experiences are amazing to the same degree as these.
I've had the opportunity to travel and live all over the world, learn languages and experience cultures I never would have otherwise, and I've met many incredible people from all walks of life.
I have gained more, and more valuable life experience from this than from any other community.

Teach, Learn, Share

學而時習之，不亦說乎。
有朋自遠方來，不亦樂乎。
人不知而不慍，不亦君子乎。

As stated above, everyone, no matter their education, age or culture, has something unique to teach everyone else. Everyone has something to tell you that you don't know yet.
It's worth speaking with and - especially - listening to people; share your experiences and your self, get to know one-another and learn!

Currently, I am learning/studying/reading about and would love help with/discussing/widening my knowledge and information pertaining to:
- Arabic (the Modern, Standardised Language).
- French (the Language).
- Modern Japanese (the Language).
- Sign Linguistics.
- Standard Chinese (the Language).
- The Techniques and Applications of many and various Martial Arts.
- The Violin (the Musical Instrument).

Formally, I am able to teach:
- Biology (Homocentric Anatomy, Evolution, Exercise Science).
- Linguistics (Language Histories, Families, Grammar).
- Languages.
- Martial Arts.
- Music.

Countries I’ve Visited

China, Denmark, French Polynesia, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Macao, Mexico, New Zealand, Palestine, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, Hong Kong, Israel, New Caledonia, Turkey

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