CURRENT MISSION

'Happiness is not a state to arrive at, but a manner of travelling.'

ABOUT ME

I'm a writer, journalist and storyteller. My first book 'Walking the Woods and the Water' tells the story of a 2,500 mile walk I did from the Hook of Holland to Istanbul. I co-edit Dark Mountain, a journal of environmental writing, and perform as a storyteller at events and festivals. I've worked for various magazines and newspapers, and have lived in Guatemala, Mexico, New York, India, Spain, Ethiopia and the UK. I make sense of life through stories, and my life is probably a mission to gather as many as I can.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

My first Couch Surfing experiences were in India and Estonia, and I had amazingly positive experiences with all the kind hosts I stayed with. From 2011 to 2012 I walked across Europe to research and write my first book, and stayed in the homes of generous strangers in Holland, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey. The journey was partly an investigation into modern-day hospitality.

Interests

Short stories, modern fiction, book-binding, environmental issues, cycling, walking, music, festivals, wandering the streets and getting lost in foreign cities.

• writing
• books
• performing arts
• festivals
• cooking
• recipes
• walking
• traveling
• music
• cycling
• surfing
• journalism
• languages

Music, Movies, and Books

Books: anything by Russell Hoban, Alan Garner, Ursula K Le Guin. Music: folk, blues, world, rock and roll and anything in between.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Visited the far north of Finland in the middle of winter to write about the disappearance of indigenous Sami languages.

Teach, Learn, Share

I am teaching myself simple book-binding techniques, and would love to share this knowledge with anyone I stay with. I'm also very open to learning new languages. I also love cooking and learning new recipes.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Stories. Lots of stories.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belize, Bulgaria, Germany, Guatemala, Hungary, India, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates

Countries I’ve Lived In

Mexico, Spain, United Kingdom, United States