Hi I'm Joel! I'm 22 from the Blue Mountains near Sydney, Australia. Growing up in my area means that I have been exposed to the outdoors my whole life, so hiking, swimming, bushwalking, foraging, camping and climbing are all things I love to enjoy when I'm at home.

Right now, I'm a young bloke travelling around the world after studying Social Work and Psychology at university in Sydney. I've travelled previously with friends, family and for seasonal jobs, but this time I'm alone, so I'm trying out Couchsurfing as I've heard it's a lot of fun and a great way to connect with people from different cultures!

I'm exploring my purpose in this world and am infatuated with the human spirit and building my connection to humanity, the universe and nature.

My creative outlets include a love for playing and creating music, travelling, surfing, learning anything I can by exploring nature and new places rich with culture and opportunities.

I've worked for bars, schools, summer camps, farms and landscapers and I'll do pretty much any job or activity at least once!

But I think at the end of the day, people are my number one interest. I think exploring the world and meeting people is the most enriching experience ever and I'm super keen on sharing amazing experiences with incredible and diverse people who I can learn from and teach!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Ultimately I'm in this for cultural exchange and building genuine connections with people. Covid really impacted an important part of my youth so the last few years I've been craving more genuine human interactions!
I've recently been bouncing from hostel to hostel but I'm wanting to build more personal friendships.

As a hitchhiker, I believe in the boundless kindness of humanity and I love the idea that I can achieve this by both hosting people in my home city and gaining knowledge and experience in others' places! I really want to connect with locals, and be the local that travelers connect with as I believe it's the most authentic way to be global and understand culture and human connection.

I am currently travelling but I love to meet other travellers and I can't wait to be a local guide when I host back home!

Interests

Moving. I just want to move and be active. Whether it's hiking in nature, traversing a city by foot, cycling, swimming, climbing, rolling down a hill, you name it.

But I do also love to take it easy and chill out. Reading, listening to music, board games, having a drink, and having deep or hilarious conversations are also some of my favourite things to do!

People and culture. I want to know it all, so tell me all that you can! I have an infinite capacity to talk but an equally infinite capacity to listen (and an appropriate capacity to know when to stop talking as well).

I'm interested in anything nature, music and sport (particularly involving water). I'm a musician and traveller by nature but I'm super into learning the history of places and personal history of people. I'm down for pretty much anything and love discovering new interests! If it involves an epic view, hard work, tasty food, fun people, learning or a good laugh then count me in!

• animals
• arts
• photography
• gardening
• reading
• traveling
• puzzles
• music
• guitar
• piano
• drums
• hiking
• surfing
• sports
• geography
• languages
• hitchhiking
• nature
• people

Music, Movies, and Books

I play the guitar, piano and drums. I'll listen to rock, pop, metal, jazz, reggae, house, and indie music. I love to read classic books too and my favourite movie is currently Forest Gump.

If you enjoy anything involving Anthony Bourdain then you're instantly my friend forever, you don't have a choice sorry.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I've hitchhiked around Australia and I'm currently hitchhiking around Europe

Teach, Learn, Share

The indomitable kind spirit of humans

What I Can Share with Hosts

A good and fun energy with a happy attitude

I can do a great BBQ and awesome breakfasts

I can English and music, and I know so many little things I'll probably teach you random things accidentally

I can provide music whether it's singalongs in the afternoon or quietly playing in the evening

Interesting stories, genuine friendship and most importantly; kindness and generosity

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Botswana, Cambodia, England, France, Germany, Iceland, Indonesia, Italy, Laos, Maldives, Mexico, Monaco, Mozambique, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia