CURRENT MISSION

Find a balance between the enticing exploration of the world, the considered understanding of it, and the building of genuine community in my time upon it.

ABOUT ME

I'm Tom. Since graduating I tried my hand at acting for two years, then I spent a year in Greece volunteering with refugees. I was then forcibly settled into a 'normal' job in London for a time before travelling the world for a year. I’ve just completed a Masters course in Amsterdam in International Development and now I’ve taken on a role in that field.

I really want to learn more about this field of work and contribute in some small way to pushing the needle of progress along and making the world a better place!

I’m not absolute about such things but I much prefer requests that feel personalised! I would also love and welcome anybody reaching out just to hang out 😊

PHILOSOPHY

To try my best to be stoic. This is far easier when you're travelling, but I want to bring that state of being into the day to day of postmodern living where I can.

I am nihilistic about certain aspects of reality, yet burn with a fierce optimism with regards to our capacity to change some things for the better and ameliorate the absurdity of life.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Hosted some wonderful people a few times when I first joined the platform but used it more and more to actually be hosted after I quit my job to travel the world! The times with other couchsurfers have been some of the best moments of my travels.

I've also regularly used the platform to host huge meetup events around the world, going all out to make each one bigger and better than the last, culminating in 200+ people showing up to a crazy night out in London one time.

Interests

Seeing new places, meeting new people, trying new things! I enjoy theatre, exploration political talks (yes, sorry!) and just having a good time with good people.

• politics
• traveling
• guitar

Music, Movies, and Books

Music wise I currently love Gang of Youths, 1975, CVRCHES, Everything Everything, Allo Darlin, The Naked and Famous, Belle & Sebastian and countless it's criminal not to mention. My absolute hero though is Bruce Springsteen.

The lion king is of course the best movie ever made and a close second is High Fidelity. Recently I've loved Burning, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Aftersun (broke my heart), Boyhood, Blue Ruin, Before Midnight, Anything written by Martin McDonagh (Seven Psychopaths is the best), La Haine, Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Big Short.... Also - How to Change the World one of the best documentaries I've seen, and on that note Hyper-Normalisation was also fantastic.

Book-wise I enjoy fantasy and bits of politics when I have the brainpower but I have been branching out to all sorts - always on the look out for recommendations. A recent favourite was The Unbearable Lightness of Being.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I was a page boy at a Cambodian wedding!

A best man at a greek wedding!

A participant of varied cultural exchanges in the middle of east.

Teach, Learn, Share

Some basic guitar skills, english language, extended rants about UK politics.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Cooking, guitar playing, bad dancing... I get a lot out of trying new things so we could literally do whatever comes to mind if I've got the time.

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Laos, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malaysia, Morocco, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Palestine, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Viet Nam, Wales

Countries I’ve Lived In

Greece, Netherlands, United Kingdom, United States