CURRENT MISSION

To equalise the world, one couchsurf at a time.

ABOUT ME

A few thoughts about myself...

A restless soul, I used to be airline Cabin Crew and am now earthbound. I miss my travelling adventures but I love teaching. I had the time of my life over 6 years of flying all over Europe - it gave me the inspiration and courage to scratch beneath the surface of everyday life. My layovers gave me snapshots of some amazing places. I am privileged to have made life friends in Poland, Slovenia and Spain. I still think airports are places of magic, there is something about them that draws me in.

I'm drawn to people not religion or structure and I think that life is all about the connections we make.

We have a responsiblity to protect those amongst us unable to protect themselves.

I seem to be living in duplicity: I hate mass trends yet I love to curl up in Starbucks and buy clothes in Gap. Even though I'm a health promoter I love alcohol. I crave the countryside but when I get there I miss the chaos of the city.

I don't think we're all created equal but we can meet in the middle and create equality.

I'm gay and the gay rights movement is important but we have to work with our straight friends and family for it to work. My closest friends and confidantes have almost always been straight men - I think that we have a lot to learn from each other.

Our mission, on top of all the stuff important to us as individuals, is to practice daily kindness, help strangers and destroy loneliness. I think we can fix the world (or at least start to) with: love, sharing and a decent beer. And maybe some pizza.

PHILOSOPHY

"Soul-place: the place in the back of our minds we have been instinctively looking for over the course of our lives. Only through the wondrous act of travelling do we have any hope of ever finding it." Matthew Link.

"Who the hell cares what anyone else thinks? Look into your heart and do what makes you happy."

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I've just returned home after 12yrs in London during which time I had some amazing CS experiences. Now that I'm back in the north-east of England I hope to host people who want to explore England outside of London.

I have made some lifelong friends from CSing as well as met some great people who were just passing through.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I had my first experiece in December 2009 in Warsaw, Poland. It was a wonderful experience and I made a great new friend. I think being able to see someone else's city throgh their eyes is a very unique experience and something that money can't buy on a normal holiday - doing it this way is priceless and a much more personal experience. Visiting new places is important but I think that the connections you make in doing so are much more valuable.

Interests

Things I love: American sitcoms, Polish beer, Cuban rum, the writings of Joel Herfner, Andrey Kurkov, Norwegian food, German nightclubs, Oprah and photographing the people in my life.

I have two sides: a contemplative, thoughtful side which enjoys reading, studying, parks, rivers, the beauty of thunderstorms and hates politics, societal homogeny and can contemplate our existence for hours.

My other side loves to party and can stay up all night drinking, talking and having fun. I do enjoy being in bars but I find myself drawn to the company not the environment - if you're with an interesting person then ANYWHERE will be great.

• beauty
• environment
• dining
• beer
• partying
• drinking
• flying
• clothing
• politics
• reading
• traveling
• magic
• religion
• parks
• rivers

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: Urbania, Were the World Mind, Pedro, Fateless, A Love to Hide, Serendipity, KM.0, The Laramie Project, Shortbus.

Music: Jason Mraz, Brendan James, Michael Buble, Jamie Cullum, Aretha, Tina.

Books: Andrey Kurkov, Felice Picano, Joel Derfner, "London belongs to me","A Fraction of the Whole".

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Driving for 5 hours through Sedona and Flagstaff, with food poisoning and doused in petrol, to see the Grand Canyon 10 minutes before sundown. Breathtaking and incomparable.

Teach, Learn, Share

I'm a lecturer in public health/sexual health and qualified to teach English.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Canada, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

United Kingdom

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