CURRENT MISSION

External experience, internal insight

ABOUT ME

I hail from a lonely rock in the Pacific called New Zealand. I prefer the Maori name Aotearoa and their flag too, over the current flag (twin to Aus and child to Britain) and current name (Dutch city).

I'm no patriot. The world is my backyard, and the road my home. People like to think NZ is green and environmentally conscious. Whilest there is alot of chlorophyll, it isnt true that our psychology is any more alturistic...its simply demographics. I am proud of our internal race relations and history of being the first country to end woman's sufferage. I like too that we are nuclear free, but again, with only four million, and natural rivers and mountains providing hydro power...its just our lot.

Taiwan was my primer for China. Spent three and a half there teaching. Mostly good times, a passage of self discovery (?). Saw some of Viet Nam, a little of the Phillipines, Thailand and China from there. Not as much of the Wan as I'd have liked, but I'll get back out there again.

I'd define myself loosely as an artist and introvert. Creativity and authenticity top my values. Photography, film making, poetry and paint are main forms. Teaching integrates these along with theatrics, thus the appeal. I made a film late '09 called Misadventures in Toyland. Created virtually the whole thing from scratch: production, story/script, acting, direction ...

Reading is a passion of mine...I go in for heavier shit..."A book should be an axe to break the frozen sea within us"....psychology/philosophy, history and selected fiction.. If it doesn't change the way I see things, then what is the point?

I'm making another go of learning Mandarin out here. Its a bit easier than with Taichung because CChung is less westernised, and because of the experience Ive gleaned there. Id say my speech/listeing is past beginner, and am trying to learn reading/writing as well.

Not sure how long Ill be here. Thinking Ill try a bit of teaching in Korea, volunteer on a farm and schools in Japan and Cambodia respectively. Post that is post East Asia for now. Latin America looms in my future, pending a big fuck off loop through Asia/Europe/Africa and more studies in Xinxilan.

PHILOSOPHY

In the end, it's not going to matter how many breaths you took, but how many moments took your breath away.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Help the free-loaders

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Zip...none...nada....meiyou

Interests

Art
- photography/CGI
- paint/draw/sculpt
- poetry
- film making

Reading
- non-fiction...psych, socialogy, history, philosophy

Travel

• arts
• writing
• books
• poetry
• photography
• film making
• acting
• reading
• traveling
• painting
• drawing
• history
• psychology
• volunteering
• rivers
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

Film
- R. Linklater
- Coen Bros.
- Stone
- Rigley/Sberg
...

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Had much of my life consumed by dire mental disease, and now climbed through it

Teach, Learn, Share

Couches are another form of loving

Countries I’ve Visited

Cambodia, China, Laos, Philippines, Thailand, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

China, New Zealand, Taiwan