CURRENT MISSION

to live in the now and enjoy as much of the beautiful world out there as possible

ABOUT ME

I grew up in Sydney and I do love my home town but I love seeing the world as well. I am open minded and I enjoy the excitment of being in new places and seeing new things. I tend to get too attached to places I love so makes it hard to leave sometimes! Above all else I value my family and my friends.

PHILOSOPHY

I am travelling for fun and to learn more about the world and how people work - and hopefully along the way to learn a little about myself too! I am trying to live in the now to come to terms with the past and to find happiness, and if that isn't possibly just one beautiful joyous moment a day will do. What more can you ask from life?
I dislike the idea of 'tourism' but love the idea of travelling to get to know the REAL places behind the glossy adverts and tourism websites :o)

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I don't have a couch to offer but I can offer advice to anyone travelling to Sydney, or to Gizo in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands where I lived recently. I can probably connect Couch surfers to a few people in Sydney too - espeically in the design and architecture field.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I unofficially hosted a few people (friends and friends of friends!) before I knew about Couch Surfing. I then couch surfed in Vietnam and absolutely loved staying with a someone who really knew the place - it was such a better experience than sticking with the tourist traps for lack of knowing anything else. Can't wait to travel more and meet more people through CS.

Interests

I love interior design.. architecture... fashion... design of any kind. I enjoy the beach although being a pale redhead I am definetly not built for it! I like being active and being outdoors, my new obsession is scuba diving.
I work in a very commercial industry (interior design) I enjoy my work and I value its place in society. However I realise that the coporate world is not the be all and end all - I just finished a year volunteering in a immensly rewarding role with Emergency Architects working in tsunami effected cumminities in a remote province in the Solomon Islands. I lived without internet, home comforts, easy transport, mobile phone, electricty half the time and I had the best year of my life. I am just as comfortable putting on a suit and going to the office as I am putting on my hiking boots and suncreen and sweating it up operating chainsaw in the bush on a remote Pacific Island.
I guess I'd describe myself as a social person - I really enjoy going out with friends, doing things - I find my weekends and week nights are hectic and I usually end the weekend only having done half the things on my to-do list! I am the same when I travel - there are 24 usuable hours in a day and I like to make the most of them. I work hard and I play hard. Strange then that I am a bit shy in big groups... but I'm not afraid of being the first one on the dancefloor (and the last :o)

• arts
• architecture
• design
• interior design
• fashion
• chocolate
• triathlon
• marathon
• running
• yachting
• politics
• traveling
• outdoor activities
• cycling
• hiking
• surfing
• scuba diving
• swimming
• tourism
• volunteering
• beaches
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

Moves I enjoy - anything thatis well made and insightful, I don't get to the movies much. I like films that are clever and make me laugh. Music - the Shins, Beck, the Beatles (my very first CD at age 15 was Hard Days Night), Xavier Rudd. Books - really enjoyed Confessions of an Economic Hit Man (what an eye opener), A Breif History of Nearly Everything, Guns Germs and Steel... currently reading Emergency Sex and Crimes Against Humanity (and the Lonely planet south east asia guide book :)

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I lived in a leaf hut on the beach on a remote island in the western province of the Solomon Islands while working on the facilitation of constructing a new school. My tasks included running a tree milling by chainsaw operation, about a 2 hour walk through the bush as well as weaving 54 window hatches using traditional techniques that only one person on the whole island had knoweledge of. Some other things...
I travelled to Switzerland alone at the age of 15 on an exchange program;
I have been within 15m of a rhino while on safari in Zimbabe;
I rode a motorbike through the hills of Pai in Northern Thailand - first time on a motorbike too!;
I have scuba dived with sharks, turtles, stingrays and manta rays in the beautiful Solomon Islands;
I have swum 1.5km across open ocean - island hopping in its true sense;
survived 28 hours straight of travelling in 6 different modes of transport through asia;
i've watched my younger sister wake up from a coma;
i've skied the Swiss alps;
viewed the amazing Okavango Delta in Botswana from above in a light aircraft;
run a half marathon;
completed a triathlon (this is from someone who had to learn to swim, run and ride a bike at the age of 25!) and
participated in sunset yacht races on Sydney Harbour - undeniably the most beautiful harbour in the world... okay I'm a little biased :o) ;

Teach, Learn, Share

Things I can teach - I bake very good banana bread and a mind blowing gluten free chocolate cake! Okay as for real things I can teach I have a few skills in the areas of interior architecture and design. I also teach design at a create arts college.
I would like to learn more about world politics, I am terrible at anything to do with politics but would really like to learn more.

Countries I’ve Visited

Botswana, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, France, Ireland, Laos, Mozambique, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, United States, Viet Nam, Zimbabwe

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, Solomon Islands