I'm curious and love to learn, I enjoy thinking, reading and being challenged. I'm pretty down to earth, though prone to moments of romanticism and to outbursts of joy which usually result in me telling whoever's closest "que c'est beau, la vie". I believe in the usefulness of scepticism but I can't stand a cynic. I think the value of friends and family cannot be overestimated.

I would love to do all my journeys by foot and by bicycle (with a few train and boat rides thrown in for good measure)

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I love making connections with people and the kindness of strangers - whether through couchsurfing or through random encounters in trains, on buses, in hostels or on one occasion, in an outdoors shop - have often been the highlights of any trip I've made. I had a great experience with the CS community during six months in Paris (with the 18e arrondissement group and lots of Kitchen Parties!), as well as a few times in Geneva, Beijing and Malaysia.

I can't host at the moment, but I know both Oxford and York well (as well as parts of London!), and although I can't meet anyone visiting them (since I'm not there myself!) I'd be happy to give tips or advice about what to do and see to anyone seeking it.

Interests

The things that I like include: travelling (unsurprisingly enough), China and Chinese, languages, education and teaching, philosophy, cooking, reading, film, history, running, hiking, cycling, surprising conversations with new people, long rambling anecdotes, social entrepreneurship, the kindness of strangers, singing, photography, art (the doing and the viewing), long train rides, listening to Radio 4.

• singing
• photography
• education
• cooking
• running
• walking
• reading
• traveling
• cycling
• hiking
• history
• languages
• philosophy
• mountains
• art
• sport

Music, Movies, and Books

BOOKS: too many to list! But includes: Middlemarch, Jane Eyre, Villette, Lolita, The Name of the Rose, A Passage to India, Combray, Wuthering Heights, Le Mythe de Sisyphe, Montaigne's essays, Chronicles of Narnia, Katherine Mansfield's short stories, Wild Swans, Jacques le Fataliste, The Master and his Emissary...

FILMS: Jules et Jim, Cinema Paradiso, Chronicles of Narnia (80s/90s BBC version), The History Boys, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Brief Encounter, Volver, Spirited Away, Toni Erdmann

MUSIC: Almost all kinds: classical, pop, jazz, hiphop. Artists I have enjoyed listening to for years include Pulp, Joni Mitchell, Jurassic 5, Simon & Garfunkel, Kate Tempest, James Taylor. Some that have joined my Spotify lists more recently include Glass Animals, Hamilton (love it!), Madeleine Peyroux, The Henry Girls...

Teach, Learn, Share

I've got a great recipe for chocolate brownies...

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Canada, Costa Rica, Cyprus, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Malaysia, Morocco, Netherlands, Palestine, Romania, Russian Federation, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, United States, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

China, France, Hungary, Switzerland, United Kingdom

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