CURRENT MISSION

Home for now and getting ready to host

ABOUT ME

Im respectful, easy-going, friendly and I try to say yes as much as I can. Ive just returned home from a trip of self discovery so I believe in stretching my boundaries and challenging myself (while still holding onto morals and personal safety, just maybe a little looser). Sometimes I can be quiet and introspective.

I like to get advice on where to go and what to do in a new city. I always want to see local bands playing. My preference is for indie rock music. Im not a hipster. Music can move me at a deep level. I dont play any instruments well enough to perform in front of people. I love singing but have a terrible memory for lyrics. Sometimes I sing the instrumental parts too.

I am learning to drink beer. I dont smoke or take drugs. I love trying new food. I tend to stay up late and sleep late except when I work I stay up late and get up early.

I nearly finished reading four books while travelling, other than travel books. I was planning on working in the Netherlands ( I have extended family there). I didn't have a ticket home and didn't know if I would go back, but I still think its a nice country. However after a lot of effot in getting a working visa I couldn't find a job so travelled around the Netherlands and came home to Wellington, New Zealand.

Now I keep thinking about going back to France (I was only there during a Contiki bus trip around Europe)...

PHILOSOPHY

Treat others the way you would like to be treated.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I was couchsurfing for the majority of 8 months in 2009 while I travelled the US, Canada and the UK then two weeks or so couchsurfing around the Netherlands in Feb/March 2010. I was planning on getting a job in the Netherlands but that didnt work out and I came back home to New Zealand to save up to travel again. I would love to host now that I have experienced the overwhelming generosity and warmth of others.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I LOVE IT!!! I've got a few friends that had couchsurfed and suggested I do it too as a great way to meet awesome people and interact with the real culture of a place.
Now Ive couch surfed for 8 months (then stayed with family a while then surfed another couple of weeks) and it's amazing! What better way to find out about a place than from the locals. I've meet the most generous, happy, fantastic people. Im really looking forward to hosting once I settle down, going to meetings and events and meeting people for a chat over coffee.

Interests

Music, painting, photography, art (Im still looking for my creative voice. It's in there somewhere, I can feel it) philosophy, linguistics, nature, the environment, sustainable living, gardening, science (volcanoes, earthquakes and just general science), sleep, movies, coffee, food, healthy living (well, other than cake and chocolate), organics, fresh squeezed juice, quirky little design stores, t-shirts, discovering local bands, discovering local food, biking, walking, hiking, talking, handcrafts like knitting, crochet and quilting (what a granny!!)

• arts
• culture
• books
• singing
• performing arts
• design
• photography
• environment
• dining
• chocolate
• beer
• coffee
• working out
• walking
• drinking
• flying
• gardening
• movies
• reading
• traveling
• socializing
• crochet
• knitting
• painting
• music
• rock music
• cycling
• hiking
• science
• working visa

Music, Movies, and Books

I'm loving indie music at the moment such as Andrew Bird, Fleet Foxes, The Shins, Ryan Adams, Brighteyes, Bon Iver, Wilco, Gomez etc. Also like Foo Fighters, Pearl Jam, Weezer, Counting Crows and Radiohead.

I would love to read more. When I get the chance I like to pick up a New Scientist magazine. It's interesting and makes me feel smart (even though I forget most of it once I turn the page). Travelling across the States I was reading On The Road by Jack Kerouac.

I like watching movies. Anything unless there is dismembering (people cutting off limbs). I can't stand that and will never watch a Saw movie.
Loved 'Two Days in Paris'. Mostly I like movies that look at life in a skewed way such as Adaptation, I heart Huckabees, Science of Sleep etc.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I've eaten alligator (like pork) and buffalo (like beef) as well as a lot of seafoods I normally would never touch such as clams, mussles, squid and shrimp.

Also cycling across the Golden Gate Bridge was pretty darn cool. Watching swarms of bats flying over Rome at sunset. They look like clouds or smoke! Climbed a mountain in Yosemite National Park (California). Went to Belfast (Northern Ireland) where kids threw stones at our bus. Wrote on the "Peace Wall" in Northern Ireland. Talked to a woman who was in a building near the World Trade Centre when 9-11 happened. Went to a Mexican bar in Prague (Czech Republic) with some new Polish friends. Drank two steins (2 litres) of beer in Munich (Germany) - Im not a big beer drnker! Went on a gondola ride in Venice.

Teach, Learn, Share

I hope to never stop learning. I can tell you why a kiwifruit is called a kiwifruit.

Id love to learn about permaculture. I used to have a garden where I grew some vegetables but it was all by trial and error. Id love to learn about companion planting so next time I wont loose all my brocolli to a catapillar infestation!!

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, New Caledonia, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Netherlands, New Zealand

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