CURRENT MISSION

Completing a satirical fantasy novel

ABOUT ME

Easy-going, friendly, sociable - I'll talk to anyone and love meeting people and exploring new places. Have friends from all round the globe. (Been to around 17 countries - Turkey, Kenya, Canada, U.S., Romania, Austria, Norway, France, Italy, Portugal, Hungary,Luxembourg, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Eire, Greece.

Hoping to go to Spain later this year then South America and Asia next year.

PHILOSOPHY

Treat people with the level of respect that you would like to receive yourself. Do random acts of kindness where you can, be positive, compassionate and laugh at life. Get as much enjoyment out of life as you can - Carpe Diem. Don't take yourself too seriously.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Am fairly new to Couchsurfing but have met some great people through CS - coffee, drinks, something to eat and showed them round town. Also been a couchsurfer in Norway.

Interests

Writing, getting the best out of life, meeting interesting new people and making new friends (can never have too many), running wine, chocolate and cheese tastings, travel, film, theatre, art, music, improv comedy (seeing and performing), acting, cooking, anything to do with digital technology (although I embrace my inner geek I still prefer meeting people face to face than on Facebook), animals/natural world/history, Vikingr/Nordic culture, making jewellery, teaching, dancing (salsa), tennis, cycling, hiking, entertaining friends.

• animals
• arts
• culture
• writing
• books
• singing
• acting
• dancing
• cooking
• chocolate
• wine
• cheese
• coffee
• dieting
• running
• drinking
• technology
• movies
• traveling
• socializing
• music
• cycling
• hiking
• sailing
• skiing
• rock climbing
• tennis
• history
• languages

Music, Movies, and Books

Have eclectic tastes but some of my favs include: Cohen Brothers, Frank Darabont, Charlie Kaufman, indie films like Little Miss Sunshine, The Squid & the Whale, European and Asian cinema (e.g., Wong Kar-Wai's movies like "In the Mood for Love" - beautiful film) and animation like Up, Spirited Away and Wall-E. Also enjoy well-written and acted TV including Battlestar Galactica, Damages, True Blood etc.

Music - dance, soul, motown, latin, world music, pop, indie rock, classical. Just whatever I'm in the mood for singing along to with friends or dancing round the kitchen.

Books - bit of everything from classics by Shakespeare, Chaucer, Austen, Gaskell, Moliere, Wilde, Chekov, Eliot, Ibsen, and Zola to Graham Green, DH Lawrence, James Joyce, Dorothy Parker, and more contemporary stuff by Arundhati Roy, Patrick Suskind, Terry Pratchett etc. Also love poetry including Keats, Wendy Cope, Liz Lochhead, Andrew Motion, Pablo Neruda, Ogden Nash (his animal and insect poems always make me laugh), and our national bard, Robert Burns.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Narrowly avoided becoming the wife of a Masai Chief when I was in Kenya. (The blood and milk diet was a deal-breaker. ;)

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach: cooking, relaxation and aromatherapy massage, writing, producing and directing short films, improvisational comedy, acting, singing etc.

Would like to improve my languages - better spoken French (my comprehension is reasonably good but I need help with my spoken and written French) German, Italian or Spanish would also be good. Would like to learn to sail, get back into climbing, improve my skiing, learn to read music.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Kenya, Norway, Portugal, Turkey, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

United Kingdom