CURRENT MISSION

Doing my best to enjoy the small pleasures in life.

ABOUT ME

I grew up in a village in the north of England but got the travel bug before I left high school and I have been doing my best to live in a variety of random places ever since and to travel as much in those places while I am there. I always make an effort to learn the language of the country I am living in and to make friends with local people, and I tend to avoid "expat-only" communities. I love getting out into the countryside - if possible on a bike or to hike in the mountains - and I always take a lot of photos. Cooking is another of my hobbies and I love learning traditional recipes from the country I am living in.

PHILOSOPHY

- We live in an age of individualism and materialism and I think we each have a responsibility to fight against that by being generous, giving, open-minded and empathetic, so that we don't forget that what really counts in life is people and not things.
- I believe that every little action counts, and that we have a responsibility to use our consumer power in the best possible way and to not forget where the products we consume have come from and who is at the other end of the chain.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I'm fairly new to Couchsurfing. I've surfed a couple of times and been to a few meetings.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

So far so good!

Interests

Travel, photography, yoga, cooking, cycling, hiking, cinema, Fair Trade, organic agriculture...

• photography
• cooking
• recipes
• yoga
• movies
• traveling
• socializing
• cycling
• hiking
• agriculture
• languages
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

Some of my favourite authors are Milan Kundera and Isabel Allende. I've just finished reading "A Fortune Teller Told Me" by Tiziano Ternani and I loved it.
One of my favourite movies is "La Vita E Bella".
I'm fairly open-minded about music and can listen to anything except heavy metal! I like going to see live music - especially jazz.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Climbed to the top of an active volcano and watched it erupt before my eyes.

Teach, Learn, Share

I'm always interested in people who have given up the urban lifestyle most of us lead and opted for something more alternative and closer to nature. I like meeting people who come from different countries and cultures as there is always something to learn from them - even though more and more I realise that deep down we are all the same, which is an important lesson to learn.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Languages, an open mind, an interest in people's lives, a calm and easy-going nature...

Countries I’ve Visited

Bolivia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Laos, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Singapore, Slovenia, Turkey, Uganda

Countries I’ve Lived In

Bulgaria, Ecuador, France, Indonesia, Italy, Slovakia, United Kingdom, United States, Viet Nam