‼️Currently not hosting due to flat repairs‼️

⭐️PLEASE GO TO "HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING” SECTION IF YOU ARE SENDING A REQUEST and follow instructions - I will only host people who do as it shows you have read my profile and helps keeps this place quality!⭐️

CURRENT MISSION

• Save enough to travel to: China, Mongolia, Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Lebanon, India, Iran, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Iceland, USA

• Learn about and experience drumming/percussion culture in different countries

ABOUT ME

I'm a TCK (half Chilean, half English, raised in the Middle East), currently living in London.

I am less interested in seeing loads of places on a checklist and prefer hearing peoples stories and human connection. That’s what makes a place memorable to me.

I appreciate a simple life. I worship music and drums and welcome fellow musicians and music lovers! I am vegetarian (well maybe pescatarian, but like 97% veggie) and I don't drink alcohol. I love living life sober, I feel most alive experiencing live music and I strive to keep my life as minimalist as possible.

PHILOSOPHY

I'm trying to find importance in what is right in front of me.
Why get depressed over existential meaning when there's things to enjoy? (I try, lol)

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

⭐️HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING⭐️

⭐️I've been using Couchsurfing since 2012. Since I did the bulk of my travelling in my early 20s and now I am attempting a more 'settled' (?) life, Couchsurfing is a great way of bringing the world to me :-) It's a way to add a little novelty, sometimes adventure and joy into my simple little life. I appreciate its ethos of sharing, hospitality and community spirit. Couchsurfing is NOT about getting a free place to stay. If you're looking just to save some money, then please don't send me a request.⭐️

⭐️Of course people are coming to London for a variety of reasons, and I appreciate when a surfer can explore independently, but as a host I also like to spend some time with my surfers. No one likes to feel like their home is being used just as a free hotel. During the week, I am busy with work so might only be able to hangout a bit in the evenings, so I usually prefer hosting weekends.⭐️

⭐️I tend to prioritise hosting people who:⭐️

1) Write well written requests (people have literally sent me messages like "Hi", "Hi Dave", "Hi can u host me?" Any message with a 'Hi host me kthxbye' vibe will be declined with no explanation)

2) Have hosted before (like I said, I believe in community, reciprocating energy etc. Please try and host when/if you are able to, instead of just surfing. I'm tired of 'takers'. I 💖LOVE💖 givers!!

⭐️Does this sound okay to you? If so, great! Please go to "My Home" section for the last step to being hosted. Ooo is this annoying or fun? It's like a treasure hunt! See you at "My Home" section for the final piece!⭐️

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have hosted:

[While living in Spain] 🇪🇸

Rahul from Canada (May 2012)
Camille from France (December 2012)
Josef from Czech Republic (January 2013)
Brooke from the USA (February 2013)
Matt from the UK (April 2013)
Sergio from Spain (May 2013)
Catherine, Nathalie & Jacek from France (May 2013)
Molly and Simone from Canada (May 2013)
Lily, Mark & Natalie from Canada (May 2013)

[While living in the UAE] 🇦🇪

Jorge from Spain (September 2013)
Chris from Luxembourg (September 2013)
Xini from China (October 2013)
Malthe from Denmark (November 2013)
Riley from the USA (November 2013)
Yury from Russia (January 2014)
Vincent from Canada (February 2014)
Johanes from Germany (May 2015)
Mike from the USA (August 2015)
Wonmin from Korea (August 2015)
Przemek from Poland (August 2015)
Gianmarco from Italy (August 2015)
Gereon from Germany (August 2015)
Pauline from France (September 2015)
Berjan from Netherlands (September 2015)
Maren from Germany (December 2015)
Silvia from South Korea (December 2015)
Nori from Japan (January 2016)

[While living in Vietnam] 🇻🇳

Andraz from Slovenia (May 2014)
Parul from UAE (February 2015)

[While living in UK] 🇬🇧

Ryoma from Japan (July 2022)
Zeyneb from Morocco (September 2022)
Isabel from Germany (October 2022)
Nedim from Bosnia & Herzegovina (October 2022)
Manasi from India (October 2022)
Lely from Malaysia (January 2023)
Chris from USA (February 2023)
Susan from USA (April 2023)
Natalia from Colombia (May 2023)
Kevin from Estonia (June 2023)
Adam from Poland (June 2023)
Somin from South Korea (July 2023)
Ricardo from Mexico (August 2023)
Corvin from Germany (August 2023)
Joseph from the US (September 2023)
Francois from France (January 2024)
Roh from Japan (April 2024)
Basel from France (May 2024)
Ana from UK (November 2024)
Iza from Brazil (November 2024)
Bonnie from USA (December 2024)
Gabby from USA (December 2024)
Majdoleen from France (December 2024)
Shi Xin from China (January 2025)
Ian from UK (February 2025)
Yasmin from Italy (March 2025)

I have 🏄🏻‍♀️ ______'s couch:

Javier (Santander, Spain, November 2012)
Murat (Amsterdam, Netherlands, February 2012)
Annamari (Helsinki, Finland, July 2013)
Helena (Helsinki, Finland, July 2013)
Xini (Dubai, UAE, September 2013)
Linh (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, February 2014)
Ally (Tokyo, Japan, October 2014)
Yotam (Tokyo, Japan, October 2014)
Ken (Taipei, Taiwan, February 2015)
Junior (Taichung, Taiwan, February 2015)
Chi Ling (Taipei, Taiwan, February 2015)
Kenichi (Nagoya, Japan, March 2015)
Makiko (Kyoto, Japan, March 2015)
Masafumi (Kyoto, Japan, March 2015)
Taka (Tokyo, Japan, March 2015)
Yuta (Tokyo, Japan, March 2015)
Ezra & Kerem (Istanbul, Turkey, July 2015)
Muhip (Istanbul, Turkey, July 2015)
Metin (Denizli, Turkey, July 2015)
Emma & Aydin (Ortahisar, Turkey, July 2015)
Mustafa (Istanbul, Turkey, July 2015)
Viet (Sofia, Bulgaria, July 2015)
Elias (Muscat, Oman, January 2016)
Fei Lee (KL, Malaysia, February 2016)
Ryutaro (Otari, Japan, February 2016)
Nik (Toyama, Japan, February 2016)
Katsuhiko (Gifu, Japan, February 2016)
Nobuyo (Nagoya, Japan, February 2016)
Helena (Kiev, Ukraine, December 2016)
Khrystyna (Lviv, Ukraine, December 2016)
Paulius (Vilnius, Lithuania, October 2017)
Jaime (Maastricht, Netherlands, April, 2022)
Lewis (Cardiff, Wales, June 2022)
Suada (Sarajevo, Bosnia, July 2022)
Khôi (Amsterdam, Netherlands, June 2023)
Domenico (Borehamwood, UK, August 2023)
Pete (Liverpool, UK, October 2023)

Interests

• cats
• books
• vegetarian
• movies
• reading
• minimalism
• music
• live music
• drums
• karaoke
• hiking
• backpacking
• camping
• philosophy
• psychology
• social work
• hitchhiking
• volunteering
• travelling
• nature
• buddhism
• zen
• tiny houses
• japan
• picnics
• mental health
• humanity
• simplicity
• tokyo
• bookshops
• vanlife
• slow living
• onsen
• stoicism
• third culture kids
• cat cafes
• sober living
• learning bsl
• child protection and advocacy
• trauma and attachment informed practice

Music, Movies, and Books

Spotify says my mornings are "happy positive mellow ", my afternoons are "angst amped mayhem" and nights are "angst laid back easygoing". I'd say that's pretty accurate 😂

I LOVE music and jump between genres, depending on my mood. I generally listen to alternative rock, funk rock/metal, ska, reggae, funk, soul, jazz, chill/dance, 90s/00s stuff.

As for movies and books, I find it hard to focus. Generally, I prefer documentaries, but of course there are some films I have enjoyed. I lean towards reading non-fiction, usually about humans, culture and identity, psychology, child development, mental health related topics. I enjoy some Japanese fiction too.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

- I lived in 6 different countries by the age of 24. I have seen and done so many wonderful things in every country I've lived in and been to.

- I have travelled solo extensively. I felt especially good in Japan, Ukraine, Bosnia, Nepal and Finland.

- Most recent amazing thing was travelling around Japan and Korea on my own for 2 months and being in the front row of an Incubus concert in Tokyo....one of my favourite bands in my favourite city...best night of my life!!!! (- 2015)

- Went back to Japan on my own for 3 months!! (- updated, 2016)

- BRANDON BOYD JUMPED OFF STAGE TO SHAKE MY HAND!!!! (-updated, 2023)

Teach, Learn, Share

I can help you learn English since that was my job for about 5 years, but I'm sure people could learn more than that from me, and I could learn a lot from other people too. We all have lessons to learn from one another, right?

I'd love to learn darbuka or taiko drums, and I'd love to see live music in your country! I'm always happy to get music and movie recommendations from Couchsurfers and being pointed in the right way for good, local, vegetarian food is always appreciated!

What I Can Share with Hosts

Conversation, company, presence, maybe an insight into a multicultural, international TCK upbringing?

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malaysia, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Scotland, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, Wales

Countries I’ve Lived In

England, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Spain, United Arab Emirates, Viet Nam