A parallel text of Proust. 3 tons of coffee beans. A wok.

Syria

الضيوف الذين يتحدثون العربية أو الفرنسية مرحب بهم بشكل خاص. Les couchsurfers qui parlent arabe ou français sont particulièrement les bienvenus. For three reasons. (1) To meet interesting people and to learn something new from them. (2) To give something back. Throughout my life, I have benefitted from the kindness and hospitality of people when I was travelling and when I lived in the Middle East. (3) To be able to practice my Arabic or French, if possible.

Music: Almost everything except modern jazz and heavy metal. Books: Where to start? I grew up in a house with books and so I read a book every week. I have wide tastes. My favourite writers in English are Jane Austen and George Orwell. I am currently reading "Naples '44" by Norman Lewis, "Middlemarch" and Thomas Hardy's "Poems 1912-13", some of the most astonishing and beautiful poems in the English Language. I also read in French and have just finished "En finir avec Eddy Bellegueule" by Edouard Louis. Films: Again, I have very wide tastes. The two best films are that I have seen in the last few years are "Caché" (2005 - directed by Michael Haneke) and "Roma" (2018 - directed by Alfonso Cuaron)

- I worked as a security guard for a year. - I spent 18 months living with peasant farmers in the north of Sudan in a village three days north of Khartoum and without electricity and without running water. It was the best thing that I have ever done in my life (in spite of having had malaria three times).

French and Arabic

A fully furnished room with its own bathroom and internet connection. We can also offer very good coffee first thing in the morning. Could you ask for more?

Reading, cinema, swimming, and gym, travelling and being with interesting people.