CURRENT MISSION

To make the world a better place throught the mediums of travel and wine

ABOUT ME

These days I mostly find myself in Budapest, to where I've returned having spent some years dotted around Europe. I am English by origin, European by choice and I have no home to speak of. Only where I rest my head, as they say. I teach English to live, coming back to the UK every summer to run a language school, and I fill the rest of my time attempting to write a dystopian novel.

PHILOSOPHY

Tread lightly wherever you place your soul.

Listen to those around you. Life is much more interesting as a learner than as a preacher.

Hold opinions, discuss them and defend them but do not stand by them forever.

Everything changes. Nothing stays the same.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I always love meeting people and showing them around the place I'm living. As I move a lot I can't participate totally in CS stuff (I've lived with people who do), but I certainly enjoy the conversation - you just never know who you're going to meet!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Having lived in shared houses for years, I've hosted a number of people indirectly (normally organised by my flatmates). I'm still a surfing virgin, however, a situation I hope will change soon...

Interests

These days my book occupies my a lot of my time. It's an economic critique through the medium of fiction, so I'm also a bit of an 'alternative economist'. One of these days it might lead to a phd, if I ever find a University that will take (and pay for) me. I am a cyclist, a multi-linguist, and I have been fortunate to have lived in so many places that normally I'm somewhere I call home.

• books
• wine
• running
• traveling
• socializing
• surfing
• economics
• languages
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

The book I've read the most is Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, although I am a fan of many authors: the Russians (Tolstoy, Dostoyevski, Bulgakov), the Americans (Steinbeck, Vonnegut), I love Garcia Marquez and learned Spanish partly to be able to read his original prose. Then there's Orwell, Rushdie, HG Wells and that sort of thing. I don't remember the last time I read a 'new' book that wasn't simply about economics.

My music is very open. From Portuguese fados, bossanova, the slightly arabic music of Andalusia, through to the Klezmer, gypsy jazz and 'tanchaz' music of Eastern Europe. As well the the expected - Beatles, Stones, Floyd, Dylan etc.

Movies? Kusturica, the Coen Brothers, Almodovar all do it for me. Casablanca's my favourite film ever, followed fairly close;y by Lawrence of Arabia.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

While working in western Colorado one summer, picking peaches on the western sloped of the Rocky Mountains, my boss leant me his car and told me to go away somewhere for 10 days because there wasn't much picking to do. I followed the Colorado river through southern Utah, and those landscapes are still etched in my mind today. On reaching the Grand Canyon I was very pleased to be in the US, as 95% of the people just drive to these places , take a photo and leave. I was able to find a peaceful spot to chill out in for a few hours before I myself heading off to Flagstaff Arizona, where I stayed in a wooden hostel full of Amish...

Countries I’ve Visited

Cambodia, India, Jordan, Laos, Morocco, Myanmar, Russian Federation, Syrian Arab Republic, United States, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Hungary, Netherlands, South Africa, Spain, United Kingdom, United States

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