CURRENT MISSION

Slow down 'da pace, put a smile on ya face

ABOUT ME

I'm an optimist at heart, and a big dreamer and talker. Time alone and personal space is very important to me; though I want to get to know everybody and overcome jealousy and fear. I think I come across as very relaxed though that's not always the case. Generally I analyse stuff too much and have ridiculous preconceptions.

PHILOSOPHY

Nothing is perfect; try to accept each moment. Be diffuse; listen, nurture love and knowledge. And get off the internet and the iphone, they're wrecking your head!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Surfing, hosting, going to meet-ups. Would like to engage in more skill sharing.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I've met some fantastic, generous and knowledgeable souls who've opened up their towns and their places to me in surprising ways. I've also sometimes not clicked with a host, and felt like I was just asking for a bed.

Interests

Music, reading fiction, travelling, writing stories and diaries and poetry, camping, sketching, going to the gym, playing sports, riding trains, riding my bike down the little alleways and parks of South London, going to gigs, playing instruments and singing

• writing
• literature
• poetry
• singing
• sketching
• dancing
• dining
• cooking
• meditation
• walking
• clothing
• reading
• traveling
• music
• guitar
• cycling
• hiking
• canoeing
• camping
• surfing
• sports
• rock climbing
• hitchhiking
• parks
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

Some Muzik? Bright Eyes, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, Gillian Welch, The Low Anthem, Slow Club, Rocky Votolato, Camera Obscura, Tilly and the Wall, The Weakerthans, American Analog Set, Planes Mistaken for Stars, M Ward...

Pelis: A couple of movies that were really big for me were 'Dazed and Confused' and 'You Can Count on Me'... Recently really enjoyed 'Searching for Sugar Man'.

Books... Of late I've been reading a lot of spiritual things, particularly about 2nd and 3rd century Christianity, Sufism and Buddhism. I'd like to learn more about the teachings of Osho and G.I. Gurdjieff. I also enjoy travel books by Patrick Leigh Fermor, Paul Theroux and Jan Morris. And Kerouac, Thoreau, Louis de Bernieres, Janette Turner Hospital, Murakami, John Steinbeck, Don Delillo and Hanif Kureshi.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I once hitch-hiked the so-called "Tennessee express" on the I44, clean across the state in a day. From Asheville to Memphis, where I ended up sleeping fitfully on sad wooden decking down by soulless carparks of the Mississippi, with mosquito torture buzz around my face. The biggest part of the ride was with a trucker by the name of 'Cherokee Jaw' who tried to convince me that the carny life was the one for me.

Teach, Learn, Share

Would love to share English language, guitar, ukelele, busking, hitch-hiking, walking in the Madrid mountains, tips about economic travel, English or American literature discussion/ analysis, making collages, chi kung postures and breathing, meditation, veggie and sattvic cooking ideas.

Would like to learn more about all of the above as well as writing and delivering poetry, telling enchanting stories, French, travel in Central Asia, climbing, freight-hopping, dancing, sewing and clothes repair, seasonal work like on barges and stuff, canoeing long distances and growing food.

Countries I’ve Visited

Bolivia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Turkey, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Ecuador, France, Spain, United Kingdom