CURRENT MISSION

To get my head around my return to Down Under

ABOUT ME

I set out on an around the world trip in August 2006 without any particular itinerary or timelines laid out. After beginning the trip in China, I came across to Europe via the trans-siberian railway and traveled overland as far as Scotland. After a stint slumming it in Glasgow playing music and packing away umbrellas, a desire for sunshine led me to Spain. I fell in love with the country and spent the next four years teaching, learning, beard growing and wine drinking in various parts of the country.

Although it broke my heart to leave Spain, I decided it's time to explore new places and set South America in my sights (i'd been trying to get there for more than four years now) and explored the continent with my incredible girlfriend Lysette for 11 months.

I'm now back in Melbourne, working away at my Masters while trying to get my head around being 'back' in Oz after seven years away. It's a work in progress :-)

I'm a writer, musician and a part time universe ponderer. I can be silly or serious depending on the moment but really enjoy meeting genuine people with stories and experiences to share.

Por qué estoy en Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I initially surfed my way across Europe, enjoying people's company, couches and floors all over the place. My surfing experience in Valencia led to me moving there and some lifelong friendships. Once I was living in Valencia, my girlfriend Lysette and I were finally able to offer up a couch to others and have enjoyed showing people around Valencia whenever we had time to do so.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

The list:

1. Surfed with Konstantin and Luba in Moscow, Russia.
2. Surfed with Efka in Helsinki, Finland.
3. Surfed with Peter in Helsinki, Finland.
4. Surfed with Sunniva in Bergen, Norway.
5. Surfed with Mike and Sue in Valencia, Spain.
6. Surfed with Mike and Sue in Valencia (I came back again!), Spain.
7. Surfed with Molly (mike and sue's cat) in Valencia, Spain.
8.Surfed with Spyro and Bella in Vienna, Austria.
9. Surfed with Atilla in Zagreb, Croatia.
10. Surfed with Lysette in Valencia
11. Hosted Marin (Croatia) in Valencia
12. Hosted Zara (Bulgaria/US) in Valencia
13. Hosted David (US) in Valencia
14. Hosted Cal (US) in Valencia
15. Hosted Ka Mei (China) in Valencia
16. Hosted Vera & Konstantin (Russia) in Santander
17. Hosted Carrie (US) in Santander
18. Hosted Deniz (Turkey) in Valencia
19. Hosted Jasmin (Germany) in Valencia
20. Hosted Markos (UK) in Valencia
21. Surfed with Ciro and Fernanda in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
22. Surfed with Gustavo in Brasilia, Brazil.
23. Surfed with Mari in Sao Luis, Brazil.
24. Surfed with Pedro in Santiago, Chile.
25. Surfed with Giacomo in Prato, Italy.
26. Surfed with Estelle & Jono in Brussels, Belgium.

Intereses

Music - listening to it, playing it, writing it, writing about it and even arguing about it from time to time. I also love writing (songs, journals, blogs), reading, movies, travelling, hitting the beach, good food and red wine.

• cats
• writing
• festivals
• dining
• cooking
• wine
• red wine
• drinking
• movies
• reading
• traveling
• magic
• music
• surfing
• beaches

Música, películas y libros

I'm a complete music nerd and get lost in music stores for hours on end. My ipod is one of my nearest and dearest friend.

Favourite musicians (in no particular order) include:
Gillian Welch
Tallest Man on Earth
Paul Kelly
Radiohead
Adem
Bob Dylan
Chet Baker
Tom Waits
The Whitest Boy Alive
The xx
Nick Drake
Iron & Wine
Antony & The Johnsons
Jeff Buckley
Sufjan Stevens
Al Green
Nina Simone

Favourite movies:

Lost in Translation
Fight Club
Science of Sleep
Zoolander
Pretty much anything by Wes Anderson
Boy (great Kiwi film)

Right now I'm reading People Like Us by Waleed Aly and about 100 books for uni, but other favourite books of mine include:

The Grapes of Wrath
Invisible Cities
The Plague
A Clockwork Orange
Catch 22
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Hard Boiled Wonderland and The End of the World

I really enjoyed A Death in Brazil by Peter Robb, it's provided me with a really good basis for the historical, political and cultural development of Brazil as I make my way around the country.

Algo increíble que he hecho

Riding a horse through the open plains of Mongolia.

The Las Fallas festival in Valencia had me marveling at the magic of some of the world's most incredible fire works. Despite having been decently injured all three times I went to the festival, I still think it's magical (and insane) and it holds a special place in my heart.

Enseña, aprende, comparte

I'll add pearls of wisdom as they come to me...

Don't drop your mobile phone in the toilet if you ever want to use it again.

The old chestnut about eskimo's having hundreds of different words for snow isn't true. Ask any eskimo!

Apparently if you get 23 random people into a room together there's a 50% chance that two of them will share a birthday.

From my couch surfer Eli - if you are cooking with chilli on a first date, make sure you wash your hands before you try and take things any further.

Países que he visitado

Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Mexico, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Qatar, Russian Federation, San Marino, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Vatican City State, Venezuela

Países en los que he vivido

Australia, Spain, United Kingdom

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