CURRENT MISSION

to never stop learning :)

ABOUT ME

If you asked my friends about me, I think they'd say I was.....
Funny,
Confident,
Studious,
Friendly,
Open-minded,
Enthusiastic,
Sometimes shy,
Curious,
Compassionate,
And fun (I hope!)

PHILOSOPHY

Humour is the best way to deal with any situation (a philosophy that doesn't always work, but at least you get to laugh!).

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

So far: surfing and hosting, though I'd like to participate more in the local CouchSurfing community in my new area.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

When I lived with a friend we heard about couch surfing, and we hosted a group of five Finnish girls and a French student at once, in a little terraced house with two bedrooms. At one point there were two housemates, two partners of housemates, three friends, six couchsurfers, and a disgruntled cat all staying in the house at once. It was a bit cramped, but it was one of the most exciting times we had ever had in the house! The poor french guy had to sleep on the kitchen floor at one point though...
A year later, I decided to get an account of my own when I moved to the Netherlands for a year, with the intention of doing some surfing. I stayed with Lukas in Bremen, and then Irini and the girls in Venice. It was amazing, I was so worried about being a stranger in someone's home, but I was made to feel welcome from the minute I arrived! From then I have been a massive couch surfing advocate, and have surfed and hosted extensively.

Interests

I spend my time mostly....
Reading
Writing
Walking
Cycling
Building a library to rival all libraries,
Smiling
Talking
Drinking tea and wine
Sitting
Standing
Watching
Doodling
Listening
Cooking
and, when I can, Travelling

• cats
• writing
• cooking
• wine
• walking
• drinking
• clubbing
• reading
• traveling
• jazz
• cycling
• surfing

Music, Movies, and Books

I play the saxophone and a little guitar, and I've started gigging in Leeds - watch this space!
Music is a big part of my life, I try go to as many gigs as I can, especially if it's something local or unusual I haven't heard before. I have an eclectic taste - but I'm a music nerd, not a music snob. I'm happy listening to doo wop, drone, techno, soul, pop, left field indie, break core, folk, anything really!

Reading is an even bigger part of my life, especially at the moment… I'm doing a PhD in comparative literature, so I guess you could say I read for a 'living'. The Tweetable version of my PhD project is: I'm looking at how footnotes bring non-British texts across national borders in early twentieth century British writing. So I'm looking at a lot of modernist writers… T.S. Eliot, James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, Flann O'Brien, Herman Hesse… and also a lot of footnotes. So many footnotes.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Thanks to Couchsurfing, I commandeered a saxophone in a Venetian squat nightclub, jumped on stage, and jammed with 4 Italian jazz musicians in front of a club full of screaming (hopefully not in pain) faces!

Teach, Learn, Share

I can balance a total of six - yes, that's right, six - spoons on my face. At once. And I'm working towards mastering eight.

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Netherlands, United Kingdom