Hi there! I'm Paddy from Wales but I've been living in Beijing, China for almost 10 years. I'm now in the process of moving back to Europe (hopefully Spain) with my partner, and am travelling around Spain to work out exactly where I want to live.

I'm a fun, open-minded person who loves outdoor activities - hiking, biking, climbing. In Beijing, I run a small non-profit social enterprise working on air pollution. I'm a software dev, social entrepreneur and... I love cooking!

P.S. After 7 years off this site, I've decided to jump back on couchsurfing

ABOUT ME

A traveller at heart, I love meeting new people, cultures and languages. There's always something to learn from everyone. I love the outdoors: hiking, climbing, camping, you name it! My favourite hobbies are windsurfing, hiking/mountain climbing and ultimate frisbee. I'm a big music fan, and play the drums so am always looking for a jam!

PHILOSOPHY

Life is for enjoying yourself, learning, and bringing happiness to everyone. Living in equilibrium is important - don't destroy the environment, and share what you have with others.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I've couch-surfed across the world, including in the US, Australia, Singapore and China. It's an amazing community and an amazing way to find like-minded people and really get the lowdown on local culture. The friendliness of the hosts have always been outstanding, and I plan on becoming a host myself now I have a place in Beijing.

Interests

Watersports (windsurfing, diving and snorkelling mainly!) and mountain sports (hiking and climbing mainly!).

I love music, and am a big fan of avant garde, alternative style music, as well as instrumentals.

Perhaps a favourite 'hobby' of mine is learning - be it languages, cultures, anything, and I also enjoy cooking and photography

• photography
• dining
• cooking
• drinking
• traveling
• blogging
• music
• drums
• outdoor activities
• hiking
• windsurfing
• surfing
• scuba diving
• sports
• rock climbing
• freelancing
• languages
• software
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

Instrumental, Experimental and alternative music. Anything that gets your brain in a muddle!
Favourite movies have to be Japanese anime (Miyazaki is amazing!), and French films in general. They always have a lot more thought put into them.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

When travelling in Thailand I spend 3 days hiking alone in the jungle alone, to end up at a remote village in the north of the country. Staying with the villagers, playing with the children and teaching them English round the dinner table (grandparents joining in too!) whilst drinking tea (and other alcoholic substances....) out of bamboo cups was something it'll be hard to forget.

Teach, Learn, Share

I love passing on the things I know to others. I've been a freelance programmer and website maker for a few years, so I'm always happy to pass on my website making/blogging/programming tips to those who want to learn (pretty much everybody!)
I'm also big into language - Welsh is my mother tongue, so one language I'm not ashamed to say I try to teach to everyone :D
I'm learning Chinese and German, and can speak French as well, so language are a big thing for me.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Some great cooking skills - especially Thai! I spent a week on a Thai cooking course, and have savoured the delicacies of the country a fair amount.

Countries I’ve Visited

Armenia, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, China, Estonia, France, Georgia, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Laos, Morocco, Myanmar, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Uganda, United States, Wales

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, China, United Kingdom