I’m curious about other people. I may seem serious at first but, don’t be fooled, once you get to know me you’ll find out that I love to laugh (and cook and garden). I can be shy at the start but not always! I gravitate towards people who immediately make fun of me. The cheekiness helps relax my guard. Otherwise, it can take me a bit longer to be myself. On the other hand, if we are BOTH awkward and shy then it’s all good, right? We’ll understand each other just fine ;) I spent the first 7 years of my life in Scotland but lived in 3 other countries during my childhood. After leaving home I lived in New Zealand, England, Canada and in Scotland. I’ve traveled in between as much as possible. Currently Nova Scotia, on the east coast of Canada is home. I run a small organic flower farm and design wedding flowers. Before I started farming, I used to teach at a school for kids who have special needs and mental health problems for many years. I wish I could find a way to combine the two professions.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I’ve met some of my favourite people in the world through Couchsurfing. I have been hosting and traveling since 2008 and it has made traveling alone fun.

Interests

Traveling (of course), gardening, second-hand bookshops, I can drink lots of coffee (stop me, I get hyper) and tea (tea is safe), love a little scotch though I can hardly ever afford to drink it, banter, history in all its craziness, food (love salty fried food.. but don’t worry I also eat healthy food with almost as much pleasure), people watching, hiking, swimming in wild places, posh English gardens, I love some poetry (I’m particular in my tastes because bad poetry makes me want to punch people. Not nice, I know), canoeing, live music (my music tastes are all over the place), watching rugby (in particular, I like watching Scotland play England though it’s bad for my blood pressure) and snooker (watching snooker is especially good at lowering my blood pressure... all that counting and calm commentary), sailing boats, I love cream teas both the Cornish & Devon style equally... (I’m fully aware how controversial that last statement is), hitch-hiking, flower arranging in a messy way, street vendors, campfires, trains, podcasts, peoples stories.

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: The Big Lebowski, Withnail and I, Casablanca, The Last Waltz (worth it just for Van Morrison’s awful sparkly suit), British murder mysteries and period dramas (don’t judge), Gardeners World, Trainspotting, old badly dubbed Kung Fu movies (love them all). Books: while traveling, I’ll read any book i can get my hands on that’s in English. Or French comics like ‘Astérix le Gaulois’ because that’s the level of French I have despite having a French mother. Music: my musical tastes are all over the shop.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I sailed through hurricane Charlie in a 27 foot sail boat (so foolish), spent an extremely hot summer camping in the Sahara desert (learnt essential tricks for cooling down watermelons), worked on an organic ginger farm in Hawaii for a summer (mailed myself a coconut. Kindest thing anyone’s ever done for me) and a whole bunch of other stuff including lots of hitchhiking in a lot of countries.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach you how to crush garlic like my mother does.

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, England, New Zealand, Scotland, United States

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