CURRENT MISSION

Travel until I can travel no more.

ABOUT ME

I'm Rachael with an A, not Rachel, please don't forget the A. Its a pet peeve of mine!!!!!

Born in England and lived there until I was eight, but I'm more Irish than the Irish and consider myself a country girl from Co. Sligo. Parents were fairly alternative, so quite a few childhood Summers were spent learning how to tie dye and make dreamcatchers.
I'm a mixture between a responsible mother hen type, pin up girl wannabe and party girl. I live up to the Irish stereotype of drinking a lot!!

Somehow settled in Melbourne for the 2nd time, now I have PR and I'm here for the foreseeable future :)

PHILOSOPHY

"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle" (Ian Maclaren)

"The only difference between the saint and the sinner is that every saint has a past and every sinner has a future". (Oscar Wilde)

Don't just sit back and wait for your dreams to come true. Get out there and make it happen yourself but be wise enough to know when to put something on the "fuck it" pile and take a step back. I'm a big believer in Karma, what goes around comes back around so make sure what you send out is positive.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

While living in Melbourne last time, I regularly hosted. I try to host at home too but strangely enough the middle of nowhere in the Irish countryside doesn't appeal to many surfers! I really enjoy meeting new people and giving them suggestions on where to go and what to see though so as well as hosting try to meet up for coffee/lunch etc and go to organised meet ups.

I've surfed in Australia, Turkey and India and try surf whenever and wherever I travel. It's always a much better experience than a hostel and I love meeting all the interesting characters around the world.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE
Amazing places, people, roadtrips and nights out. Its been great!

I've met some of my best friends off Couchsurfing, in Galway, Melbourne as well as other places. I've also met many people who although I don't get to see too often anymore have impacted my life and changed me for the better.

I cant wait to meet lots of new people over my travels next year too :)

Interests

I've been a nurse for nearly eight years, so I'm getting a tad bored and my interests are now taking me down more of a counselling route. I'm also interested in more alternative therapies such as yoga and reiki. I have completed a yoga teacher training course, pilates teacher training course and Reiki level 1 and 2.

I love fortune tellers and tarots cards and try to read tarot as a hobby.

Music, my perfect night out is going to see a live band. I can be an avid reader too. I get through books super fast so always appreciate recommendations on what to read next.

I have a massive interest in World Religions, which I think comes from the different religious views in my family. We had strict, strict Catholics, Protestants and an Athiest with an interest in Taoism. My first love was a Hindu man, and my best friend was Pagan. I love hearing about it all!!!

Tattoos, five and counting, one of which is a pretty big back piece in progress.

I'm vegan but make an amazing veggie curry and the best banana muffins ever.

• animals
• pets
• books
• tattoos
• cooking
• coffee
• yoga
• dieting
• partying
• drinking
• reading
• traveling
• billiards
• music
• hinduism
• swimming
• teaching
• nursing
• religion

Music, Movies, and Books

Did you know if you watch Saw backwards, it is a truly amazing and touching story about one man providing countless limbs for the disabled:):) Never actually done this I've just heard!!!

Im mostly into indie/art house flicks. I have quite dark taste in movies and my favourite films are American History X, Training Day, Volver, Gangs of Taipei, We Need To Talk About Kevin and Fight Club. Anything with Edward Norton in it or by Tim Burton is also good. I 'll try and watch anything really though except rom-com type chick flick films.

I'm a rock chick at heart but am also down with indie, metal and blues. I was a teenage headbanger and she still pops up now and again! If I had to name a few bands I really like it would be Florence and the Machine, Bastille, Rise Against, John Butler Trio, Jimi Hendrix, Metallica, Train, Of Monsters and Men, The Lumineers,Yeasayer, RHCP and QOTSA and Pantera.

My favourite books are 'Eat, Pray, Love'(I've never seen the film though)'Jasper Jones' by Craig Silvey, 'The Green Mile' by Stephen King and 'How To Be A Woman' by Caitlin Moran.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I have literally had quite an insane life and been in some scrapes. Highlights as follows :)

Working as a staff nurse in a children's hospice in Melbourne for a year and a half. The most humbling, grounding experience of my life to date.

Watching the sun rise over Angkor Wat, Cambodia in 2011. Then in 2013 watching the sun rise over Uluru, Australia.

Surviving in Melbourne for three weeks, unemployed and with only $50 to my name. Its only for C.S, not paying for public transport, a strict diet of instant noodles and the luck of the Irish that I made it!!!

Narrowly escaping being sex trafficked in Prague in 2008 (I swear to God its true). It was almost like a real life version of the Liam Neeson film "Taken". My friend and I had our drinks spiked, I had downed mine and was in a near coma. Our saving grace was that my friend is the worlds slowest drinker and managed to get us out of there.

Secretly getting married when I was 20 years old because my boyfriend needed a visa (Oh Yes!!!). My parents didn't find out for a whole year!!!! Needless to say the marriage didn't last.

Spending all my lunch breaks in a brothel while living and working in Sydney. I worked in the office next door but the girls that did work there were my first real group of friends after moving to Australia. I adored them and it was really fascinating!

Seeing a 2 metre manta ray swim past me while snorkelling in New Caledonia in 2012.

Organising a free hugs day in Galway in 2013. Once we got over the strange looks it was the most fun ever!!!!

Saving a guy from drowning in the hotel pool when I was in Mykonos, Greece 2014.

Driving for over 20 hours non stop from Sydney to Brisbane for a friend. She found herself in a bad set up and called me saying she needed help. I flew down there a couple of days later, we got our hands on a free (!!) 2nd hand car that barely worked and drove off. By the end of the journey we were both exhausted and hallucinating. Honestly I'm surprised we weren't killed on that road with the state we were in. But my friends are my world and I'd do it again in the morning.

Teach, Learn, Share

I'm open to learning anything, whatever your thing is i wanna know and give it a whirl.

I can tell you some Irish fairy - tales, and teach you the tiny bit of Irish language I know as well as bringing you to hear some some traditional Irish music. Everything IRISH :)

Also i'm pretty sure my mother is the most c.s friendly mother on the planet. She will cook for you, do your laundry and practically treat you as another child of hers. So come surf with me and get your own surrogate Irish mammy :)

What I Can Share with Hosts

Hosts: I can do some Reiki on you or give you an ayuveda style massage (i havn't practised in a while though). I can also try and do a tarot card reading but once again forgive me if i'm not the best!!! I'm also full of super lame, cheesy jokes.

Surfers: I can offer mini roadtrips if I'm off :) If your'e an animal person, there's a rescue centre for neglected, abandoned and abused donkeys close by. Bring some carrots and you can wander around feeding them for as long as you like. Its one of my favourite places to spend a morning and I love it when surfers come with me. If this isn't your thing there's an African drumming class close by every Thursday and its soooo much fun :)

Countries I’ve Visited

Bolivia, Cambodia, Chile, Colombia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Greece, India, Laos, Malaysia, New Caledonia, Peru, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, Vanuatu, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, Ireland, United Kingdom

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