I'm living in Montpellier for a month to do an intensive french course before I move to Quebec. I'm looking for friends that I can practice my french with (I have a decent level, and understand most spoken french, but I don't speak it particularly well). I have class every day from 2pm-5pm, but will often be free before then.

I'm a big hiker, and just did 5 weeks of trekking in Nepal: the Annapurna circuit followed by the Three Passes trek. This was a rewarding but challenging experience, and I'd be more than happy to give advice and recommendations for anyone keen to go over to Nepal.

I'm also a fan of mountains and forests, and the recent Ha Giang loop in Vietnam was incredible for this.

I see myself travelling for the foreseeable future, though it's a lot more expensive now than it was back 10 years ago when I started travelling round Europe 😅

I'm an avid cyclist, and did a bike tour in 2017 through the Pyrenees, something I'd love to do again in the future.

I also love live music as well as cooking, and the latter has been something I've struggled to be able to do while on the road. Either hostels don't have kitchens, or they have awful equipment, so for any hosts who would be keen to cook something together, I would love that!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I would love to meet people local to the area. I'm a little bit shy in public, and I find that I mostly meet people in hostels/walking tours etc. and so don't meet many locals.

But that's where the real knowledge is, the experience of a place, the understanding of the culture of a city or country, and the best places to find food or coffee. So I'm hoping that through CS, I can have a richer travelling experience.

By the looks of people's profiles, there seems to be an issue on CS of using the app as a dating app, so I'd like to address that and say that that's not remotely what I'm looking for. I'm sure some women in particular are put off using CS or hosting people because of this, so it doesn't hurt to mention.

I'm a big believer of understanding how power dynamics play a role in dating, i.e. there are situations where it's completely inappropriate to hit on someone (which, in this case is the whole experience of CS, from the messages to the meetings to staying with someone).

Interests

• reading
• bouldering
• cycling
• physics

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Sunrise from the top of Kalar Pattar after helping a man with severe food poisoning get to the top, where you can see both Everest and Ama Dablam. Stunning.

Teach, Learn, Share

I've done a few cooking classes while on the road, and I hope that by the end of my trip, I'll be able to teach dishes from all over the place. My favourite so far has been a sweet and sour tempeh that was divine.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Hopefully I can provide stimulating conversation, an openness to hang out together, some great vegan food!

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Macedonia, Nepal, Netherlands, Portugal, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, United Kingdom