CURRENT MISSION

See more, learn more, help more, BE more!

ABOUT ME

Well I don't really know what to say about myself, I'm a Medical Student just about to go into my second year of university. I have plenty of life experience, having previously studied for a History degree - then living in London for 4 years where I worked as a retail analyst with some big companies. I have a secret passion for microsoft excel and love a good colorful spreadsheet.

After a few years of work though I realised a long standing feeling of wanting to do Medicine wasn't going away, so I am now pursuing this dream of being a doctor (gradually becoming a reality).

Outside of this I'm really into brewing beer (something I learnt from my CS housemate), playing games and socialising with friends. I have a bit of a creative side (which helps me escape all the hard science of medicine) and play the keyboard and take photos (when I can, though I'm not bold enough to call myself a photographer).

PHILOSOPHY

I believe that much of life is about trying to make sure everyone else is having as great a time as you are.

I don't like to focus too much on the bad things, and as such am very forgiving. This is something which has its root in my upbringing in a church-going household, but this is by no means a bad thing. I don't want to get stressed about small things, and like to alleviate others fears and concerns. It makes me sad to see people allow themselves to get so focussed and annoyed by small things that - when you step back and look - are not really anything at all.

I'd like to be able to make people feel better about themselves and their lives. This is part of the reason I want to study medicine - it's not just about solutions to problems (a solution doesn't always exist) but about the journey towards a resolution.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

My girlfriend and I really like to host as much as we are comfortably able to, and when I travel, I try to surf a bit as well. It's my favourite way to meet new people - recruiting friends from people who stay in your front room!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

While I would say I am an experienced and open-minded person - my travelling experience is not very good at all. I love new people and new things - and I find couchsurfing is the perfect way to be involved in a diverse community and experience cultures all while I am tied to my course for the next few years.

I've now been officially hosted twice on this summer holiday to Spain, by 2 couples - once in Valencia and again in Faro (Portugal).

I first heard of couchsurfing through my housemates in Manchester, met my girlfriend through some CS friends, and made a lot of great connections here that will (I hope) remain long after people return to their respective countries.

Interests

Well I spend a lot of my time studying! Not just because I have to, but I do have a passion for learning. I'm currently trying to learn Spanish, I love languages, but am really bad at following it through... hopefully my Spanish speaking friends will push me to try hard.

I also love to cook, and eat and talk and drink! I have had a really fun year brewing a lot of my own beer with my housemates too. It's great fun to see how the flavours change and am really excited about making it every time!

• cooking
• beer
• drinking
• traveling
• homebrewing
• history
• languages
• medicine
• science

Music, Movies, and Books

I tend to like most films actually, but not really films that are films of books. My favourite film (at the moment) is Scott Pilgrim (an exception to my above rule), but I tend to like things that other people would say are classics - like Fight Club, Alien, etc.

Music: quite varied... from Muse, Porcupine Tree, Battles, generally heavier bits - to realy relaxed nice things, Boards of Canada, Mr Scruff, Susumu Yokota, Brian Eno, and everything in between (Mew, Killers, Primal Scream, Spiritualized).

Books: Catch-22 is definitely up there, One Day (cheesey romance)... I can't really think of books actually. Guyton and Hall's textbook of Medical Physiology is a spectacular peice of literature (although not exactly a cracking bedtime read - unless you have trouble falling asleep).

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I jumped out of an aeroplane... or rather, a man jumped out of an aeroplane with me perilously and helplessly strapped to his front. Still. Fun times had by all.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach you most of the muscles in the anterior compartment of the forearm. Also the shoulder.

The anterior axillary wall is formed by the Pectoralis Major muscle. There you go. Plenty more where that came from...