CURRENT MISSION

Get good and lost

ABOUT ME

Just a dude trying to get some interesting and unique experiences under my belt. I'm trying to get good and lost in North/Central America, and escape the trap of only hanging out with people from hostels.

I often find I have more memorable experiences in small places, and think that the best adventures are always the spontaneous ones.

PHILOSOPHY

I mainly live to have good conversations and have interesting, original experiences. I like to laugh, and make other people laugh.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Just getting started with couchsurfing. I've been recommended the idea by countless people, so figured I'd finally get round to giving it a go.

Interests

Apart from work as a jornalist, I also do amateur (and occasionally professional) stand up comedy. Short sets in small venues mainly, but it's a lot of fun. I also watch a ridiculous amount of stand up on youtube.

Otherwise, in terms of free time, it's books, movies and wasting time reading about pop culture on the internet. I also go for walks and write down ideas for books, films, documentaries. Some of them are terrible.

• culture
• books
• documentaries
• movies
• reading

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: Low-fi garage type stuff. Titus Andronicus, The Walkmen, Wolf Parade etc. Also a lot of stuff from the sixties - Dylan, Stones, big Beatles fan.

Movies: In Bruges, Wes Anderson's various works, True Grit, Paul Thomas Anderson's stuff, Harmony Korine's projects.

Books: Loads. Currently reading Birdsong by Sebastien Faulks. Just got done with Sam Lipsyte's 'The Ask' and a Raymond Carver collection.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

In Zimbabwe, a local kid and I hiked out to a village so far out of the way of any urban centre that, upon arriving and talking to a local family, he related that they said I was the first white person they'd seen in person. I couldn't be sure if it was true, but if it was, dang. Being given the sense that I'd truly gotten off the tourist trail - that I'd actually travelled - was a pretty great feeling.

Also in Zimbabwe, taking an overnight train into Harare was fantastic. It wasn't massively eventful - just a twenty or so hour ride across the country - but the landscape was great, the atmosphere was communal and exciting, and I friggin' love trains.

And I'd say just staying in NYC for six days left me awestruck throughout. Being in that city is like having a lifegasm, and within three days I was half elated to be there, half upset that I didn't live there permanently. Also, I was staying next to the project where Jay Z grew up, which is surely awesome.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can speak a bit about some of the nicer places to visit in England.

I also have a pretty extensive knowledge about stand up comedy, if that's appealing in any way!

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, United States, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Countries I’ve Lived In

United Kingdom