Not sure what to say here.. I'm just about 39 years old. Reasonably adventurous spirit, a little shy around the edges but quite gregarious once I get going. Expert procrastinator! I love to travel when I have the chance and to meet people and learn about what makes them tick. For the last eight years I called the south coast of England home, but have recently left to embark on an extended road trip through the Americas, which I've been thinking about for decades but somehow feels like it's happened quite suddenly!

Vegetarian, pretty appalled by cruelty and injustice of all kinds, looking for ways to improve the world rather than constantly taking from it..

I'm slightly cautious by nature, but not averse to taking risks now and again, especially when they sound like they might be fun or take me on adventures, and am pretty open to new experiences when they present themselves!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

It seems like a great way to meet people and gain an insight into areas of the world and cultures that you would likely otherwise remain on the periphery of. Some of the most interesting times I've had have been staying with people in parts of the world quite different to my little corner of the UK, and I've made good friendships and had some fun experiences in the process :-) And of course it's cheaper than a hotel!

Interests

I have fairly broad interests, but a common theme is they tend to focus on exploring the world in various ways. I love to travel - and have over the last few years discovered that solo travel is hugely rewarding - and have interesting conversations and develop connections with new people. I enjoy reading, whiling away time in pubs with friends, cinema; all the usual stuff. I like photography, I aspire to write and when at home I do a fair bit of sport - mainly swimming, badminton and yoga.

I like to challenge myself - I've done a couple of quite long-distance walking holidays over the last couple of years which were fun. I enjoy diving when I get the chance (preferably in warmer waters, though I'm up for trying drysuit diving some day so I can explore the UK coast too!). I'm generally fascinated by the natural world and especially wildlife - don't know much about plants but I can feel an interest developing there slowly too..

I enjoy languages - I speak French reasonably well and am attempting to learn Spanish too in preparation for the second part of my trip - I also have a smattering of Swahili after living in East Africa for a few years, though it's fading fast!

I love music festivals and try to go to at least one every year, and a few gigs in between. I spent many years playing the piano, and dabbled with guitar and drums for a while - I haven't really played in years now, but I'd like to take up at least the piano again one day..

• wildlife
• culture
• photography
• exercise
• music
• hiking
• scuba diving
• ecology
• geography
• psychology
• travel
• meeting new people
• reading and writing

Music, Movies, and Books

Hmm.. I was in my teens in the '90s and can't quite shake them off when it comes to music! I listen to indie, folk, rock, bits of reggae, pop, blues, occasional trance type stuff, some African and other 'world' music, a little classical when the mood takes me; reasonably eclectic. Not so into opera and can take or leave most dance type stuff, but it has its place!

I'm not a huge fan of horror films and possibly limited time for Western-type films (as in country and, rather than made in the West); I'll watch pretty much anything if it's well-made though!

I have fairly broad taste in literature too - I made a policy when I was younger of trying books recommended to me by people whose opinions I generally trust or find interesting, and that's helped keep my reading varied! Left to my own devices I'll often gravitate towards books about people living in far-flung places or doing interesting things, but I like good writing of all kinds - recently rediscovered Steinbeck and love his observational style; other authors I can pick out off the top of my head would include Louis de Bernieres, Arundhati Roy, Willard Price, Richard Dawkins, Alain de Botton, Farley Mowatt, Jon Krakauer.. Open to most things!

Starting to think I may have a problem in narrowing things down..

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I've been lucky and had a lot of special experiences. Summitting Kilimanjaro under a bright full moon on my 30th birthday has to rank up there as one of the most memorable (albeit pretty tiring) though - and I got to use the terrible pun 'I'm now officially over the hill' on the way back down; it was almost worth it for that!

Teach, Learn, Share

I love to learn new stuff - languages, new recipes, facts, techniques, whatever.. I'm not sure I have much in the way of interesting transferable skills I can pass on, but very happy to share experiences and stories with people, and value most kinds of of interaction.

What I Can Share with Hosts

As I say I'm happy to contribute whatever I can whenever I can - quite enjoy cooking, happy to pitch in with whatever's happening at the time really!

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, Belize, Canada, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Iran, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Malawi, Malta, Mexico, Morocco, Mozambique, Netherlands, Peru, Spain, Switzerland, Tanzania, Thailand, United States, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Countries I’ve Lived In

Kenya, Tanzania, United Kingdom