CURRENT MISSION

Make governments work, or think up an alternative

ABOUT ME

I work for a big international aid organisation, trying to make sure everyone knows what everyone else is doing when they make decisions. I also do some work on decentralisation with government and academia and industry - I will bore you to death talking about this if given the chance!

More than anything I like learning, so I've got time for anyone who can share new ideas and experiences. But, I also like to cut loose and do wild things periodically :D

I can be a bit analytical, so I'm not always great at smalltalk, but I do love getting to know new people and glimpsing the world through their eyes - especially if they're used to quite a different part of the world.

PHILOSOPHY

'...I agree with the second part'

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I offer a bed when I can, in my humble corner of the world

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Couchsurfed in Russia, and met up with a few couchsurfers socially there too. While studying in Cardiff I hosted a bunch of surfers. I was pointed to this site a while back by my lovely friend Sandra (username: the lodger) but took a while before I had a couch (and a relaxed enough flatmate) to host surfers

Interests

kitesurfing, ice hockey, languages, complexity, philosophy of science, innovative movies and music...

Music, Movies, and Books

I switch between old world style folk and underground rap and euphoric electronic music...I guess I just like variety

my favourite film is probably still fight club, though I've not seen it in a while; I just like the irreverence of it all, the challenge to norms we don't need, and senses we keep in cotton wool - plus Fincher really knows how to direct

Good recent book: Half-Blood Blues, it's got Jazz and Nazis!

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

ice swimming in Finland; open air ice hockey in the Swiss alps; the ride down the jungle ravine between Tibet and Nepal - all 3km of altitude - and then crossing mudslides on foot at the Nepalese border (scary stuff!); swimming in Baikal, the Siberian sacred sea; a week kitesurfing all day every day on a huge lagoon in the middle of Western Sahara, sleeping in a Bedouin tent, and eating delicious local food every night

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach maths to a pretty high level - with intuition. I can teach some economics, ice skating, kitesurfing (though I'm not qualified yet) and some very basic guitar too. I can help you practice Welsh - though mine is more casual than formally grammatical

I really want to work on my languages conversationally - mandarin, french, arabic - but I'm not good at making people practice with me, especially when they also speak english

What I Can Share with Hosts

Some drinks, some light conversation, some deep conversation...

Countries I’ve Visited

Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Italy, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United States, Western Sahara

Countries I’ve Lived In

United Kingdom