CURRENT MISSION

Aussie environmental scientist touring southern Africa for marine conservation internships

ABOUT ME

Recent environmental science graduate from Sydney, Australia in the middle of a 5 month adventure, my longest time away from home and my boyfriend of 5 years. Have been travelling southern Africa since May 22nd; first for a fundraising challenge, then some of the World Cup, and now in Maputo attempting to learn Portuguese before my August-October internships with marine research/conservation organisations in Mozambique and South Africa!

I like meeting new people from different places and cultures, and getting to know new places from a local's perspective. I love the ocean, nature and wildlife, and am an avid scuba diver. I also volunteer with environmental organisations back in Australia, particularly on marine campaigns and doing fish surveys while diving.

PHILOSOPHY

Get busy livin' or get busy dyin'! (from the movie The Shawshank Redemption)

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

By spreading my love of nature and the environment, particularly under the sea, to those who might not be familiar with those things... And maybe sharing stories and experiences from my home country and culture (both Australian and Chinese as my parents emigrated to Australia from Hong Kong before I was born) and eventually hosting other couchsurfers when I move back to Oz and get my own place, Maninga Nice! (I think that is what they say here in Moz).

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

A new surfer starting out on the couches of Maputo, Mozambique, and great experiences so far! Also have been hosted before in the Servas Traveller Network in Durban, KZN, South Africa (which is like CouchSurfing but requires applying with references and works towards world peace through cross-cultural communication). Looking forward to more cross-cultural experiences both with Servas and CouchSurfing!

Interests

Marine life, scuba diving, live music, meeting new people, attempting to learn new languages :)

• wildlife
• fish
• culture
• singing
• environment
• traveling
• music
• live music
• piano
• violin
• karaoke
• fishing
• scuba diving
• world cup
• languages
• science
• volunteering

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Shawshank Redemption, Amelie...
Music: Erykah Badu, Eli Paperboy Reid, The Roots, Ladysmith Black Mambazo...
Books & authors: The Eyre Affair and sequels (Jasper Fforde), The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency and sequels (Alexander McCall Smith), Neil Gaiman, Nick Hornby...

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Solar cooker community workshops with rural women in Nicaragua (http://www.korima.pv.unsw.edu.au/; http://www.grupofenix.org)

Teach, Learn, Share

Well... I can play violin and piano, I love SCUBA diving and singing karaoke, so maybe I can share some love that way?

Countries I’ve Visited

China, Nicaragua, Norway

Countries I’ve Lived In

China, South Africa

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