*** NB We aren't able to host people from Monday - Thursday. My work schedule is such that it makes it hard to host guests until the weekend. Please don't request to stay during the week as we sadly can't help out.***

'Allo! My name is Steph. I'm 25 and I live with my boyfriend Robbie in beautiful and mysterious Oxford. I teach English and Creative Writing, he builds things with DNA. Together we write stories and love a good adventure

I've couch-surfed extensively and have had an amazing time hosting people in the past. So we decided we'd love to start hosting again, in our little flat in Oxford. We love meeting new people and learning about other lives in distant lands. We're both creative, open minded people and we love learning. If you're a traveller, adventurer or tourist exploring Oxford and you'd like a place to stay, come with a story or two and our couch is yours for the few days you are in town!

We really like to get to know our guests and to not just be a landing pad for someone passing through. So if you're interested in sharing a meal and having a good chat let us know.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I've couch surfed a number of times during my trip throughout Europe one summer and then I was lucky enough to host some wonderful travellers during the first six months of my exchange.

We are planning on travelling through Turkey in July and would love to couchsurf along the South Western coast.

Interests

It has to be the people. What is more fascinating in this life than the people around us, engaging in entirely different lives every second we are so caught up in our own. You could say I'm a people-watcher (sometimes that translates as stalker...) because I am truly amazed at the things human beings can do and achieve.

In my spare time I write music (I'm a singer songwriter on piano) and create theatre. I also love a good book and, when I get the chance, I love baking. I'm quite the outdoors type, love a bit hiking, swimming and sports. Essentially, I'm a go-getter and will happily give new opportunities a try.

I just graduated in a Bachelor of Arts from Sydney University, majoring in Government and International Relations. I'm pretty passionate about Politics, history and current affairs but I remember also not to get too bogged down in the heavy conversations and to get up and dance!

I teach English as a second language and I work in a creative arts charity in London, three days a week. Robbie is a scientist doing his PhD in Synthetic Biology and he is probably the most inquisitive person I've met! Come prepared to discuss all kinds of things in our household, from the very real and scientific to the illusory and imaginative!

• arts
• writing
• books
• beauty
• dancing
• environment
• baking
• politics
• traveling
• music
• piano
• outdoor activities
• hiking
• adventure races
• sports
• swimming
• biology
• history
• international relations
• science
• lakes

Music, Movies, and Books

Films: Amelie, The Science of Sleep, Pan's Labyrinth, Snatch, Stranger than Fiction, anything Studio Ghibli has ever made, House of Flying Daggers, Anne of Green Gables, all Monty Python Films ever...ahh the list goes on!
TV: Game of Thrones, Community, Scrubs, Bones, Black Books,
Books: I worked in a bookshop for a few years - such a great gig! - so I love to read. I love Science Fiction and Fantasy. Some favourites include, Phillip Pullman's His Dark Material's Trilogy, Margaret Atwood The Year of the Flood, Margo Lanagan Tender Morsels and Seahearts, George. R. R. Martin A Song of Ice and Fire Series, I love Etgar Keret's Short Stories and Neil Gaiman's crazy mind! But this year I read Anna Funder's All That I Am and I have to say it is the most affecting and incredible book I have read in 2-3 years.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Standing in the middle of Pltvice Lakes, Croatia. I remember standing on the little wooden walkway in the middle of one of the enormously still lakes and I was completely dumbfounded. I could have been the only person in the whole world and it didn't matter. The sheer beauty of that environment and the quiteness of winter was just the most extraordinary experience. I don't believe in god but if I did, I think he'd live there.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Spain, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, Denmark, England, Italy, Spain