Why I’m on Couchsurfing

i kinda think there's something incredibly amazing about the process of meeting another person and then being able to call that person a friend. i'm hoping that will happen with you and i :)

Interests

travelling and really experiencing a place beyond what you can find on tripadvisor and lonely planet and god forbid, organised tours, films and plays, long leisurely conversations about anything and everything, big nature person so anything to do with the sun or the sea or the lakes or the mountains or the stars ...you get the idea. hiking, kayaking, swimming and currently learning how to cycle (never too late!) and i think it's generally safe to say that i love an outdoor adventure :)

• arts
• culture
• books
• photography
• dining
• movies
• traveling
• poker
• outdoor activities
• cycling
• hiking
• kayaking
• swimming
• history
• languages
• tours
• lakes
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

music: death cab for cutie, arctic monkeys, of monsters and men, bon iver, the lumineers, belle & sebastian, damien jurado, fleet foxes, kings of convenience, some electro beats, major soft spot for live jazz and acoustic performances and i still retain my ability to sing along badly to 90s pop oops

movies: some persistent faves are eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, the dark knight, grand budapest hotel, the prestige, departures, up, an education, amelie, black swan, spirited away, boyhood, the artist, virtually anything pixar yay pixar

books: the colour purple, the incredible lightness of being, the old man and the sea, white tiger, the remains of the day, we need to talk about kevin

poetry: margaret atwood, stephen dunn, naomi shihab nye, jack gilbert + always up for any recommendations

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

hiked for 7 hours on the great wall of china despite having severe food poisoning (and survived!)

volunteered for two weeks at an orphanage in zambia

played competitive scrabble at the international level - i don't personally consider this to be amazing per se but some people i know do so i put this down for good measure!

Teach, Learn, Share

i'd be happy to learn about anything you're willing to share really (culture and history! food! language! books! art! a new instrument! photography!) , soak in your favourite hangout places with you, listen to your stories, play a decent game of Scrabble with you or get my ass kicked at bridge, monopoly deal, poker or virtually any other board/card game

equally happy to tell you about living/studying/working in different countries - don't have crazy amounts of experience since i'm still just a young grasshopper but still maybe you'll find something of interest :)

What I Can Share with Hosts

a good chat (as long or as short as you prefer), a big smile, any bits of the languages I know, and possibly even a cooked meal or two - would love to try to make a meal out of ingredients local to wherever you are, with your supervision or without (if you want to throw me into the deep end I'm game)

i'm also a pretty independent traveller. in fact, i love researching a city and falling in love with it even before i set foot in it, then getting my expectations turned upside down (this has almost always proven to be a good thing), as masochistic as that sounds! i also clean up well after myself and will also try 100% to make sure that i don't inconvenience you :)

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Italy, Myanmar, New Zealand, Spain, Thailand, United States, Zambia

Countries I’ve Lived In

China, Malaysia, Singapore, United Kingdom