When people ask me what I do for a living I usually tell them I'm a waiter, although I have also been a bartender, delivery driver, proposals analyst and proofreader. A couple of years ago I spent a whole year wwoofing (volunteering on organic farms) in Germany. I did this mainly as a way to learn German, but discovered that I really liked working with sheep.

The current project is learning French.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

After couchsurfing a few times while travelling with other people, I managed to do it while travelling alone for the first time a couple of years ago. It was a great way to reduce the amount of times I end up in hostels, which I find have the potential to be pretty anonymous, and get to meet native speakers of the local language - one of the things I find most interesting about any place I travel to. You always get a different view of place you're visiting when you couchsurf.

Interests

Normally I would say something like "books and guitar", but I haven't had a guitar with me while travelling, that leaves me with just books at the moment. When travelling I love just walking around and taking the time to see what I see.

As I get older I realise more and more that one of my favourite things to do is to sit in a café with a book. I usually end up forgetting about the book and mostly just watching the world go by.

And decent conversation - but that has always been an interest.

• books
• photography
• dining
• beer
• traveling
• guitar

Music, Movies, and Books

The first book I remember being really excited about was Ricky, Rocky and Ringo's Colorful Day - my parents tell me that I borrowed it from the library so many times the folks there ended up giving it to me.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/684758.Ricky_Rocky_and_Ringo_s_Colorful_Day

The last novels I read were The Finishing Touch by Brigid Brophy and The Prime Of Miss Jean Broadie by Muriel Spark.

I tend to listen to a lot of noisy stuff - at least few people over the course of my life have remarked to me, "Are you sure that's music?" Recently I've been listening to quite a bit of John Coltrane and the Basement Tapes by Dylan and the Band.

Watership Down was a childhood favourite, and remains the film equivalent of comfort food - any time I'm feeling down I break out the DVD. The films that I saw last year and liked the best were probably Paris A Nous (not that I understood it at all) and Inherent Vice.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

When I was 16 I played in a band that once supported Stiff Little Fingers in Belfast. We got to play in front of an audience of 500, were paid £25 each, and got some free beer. A hugely fun experience.

Teach, Learn, Share

If anyone needs help with their English, I'm pretty sure I can help with that.

Also, I'm trying to improve my use of my 35mm camera, so I would be happy to meet anyone who has some experience with film photography.

I can play guitar, so am happy to share songs with anyone who also plays.

Most of all I'm looking to share chat.

Countries I’ve Visited

Italy, Morocco, Spain

Countries I’ve Lived In

Denmark, France, Germany, United Kingdom