CURRENT MISSION

To throw myself at Life

ABOUT ME

I am a creative, inspired man. I like many things, I like to laugh and to make jokes.

I love to run marathon and have started running in hills and on trails with minimalist shoes.

I liked to smoke as a teenager, then occasionally throughout my twenties, then stopped. Same with mouth tobacco, or 'nuuska' in Finnish, which I rarely use anymore. I enjoy smoking shisha, or 'nargile' in Turkish, but this is very rare, too.

I consider myself to be health conscious, which includes the mind, body and spirit.

I practice yoga, I meditate, and I try to avoid eating animals.

I never try to change others lives, whether they like to eat meat or smoke, it's their choice.

I had my hair dreadlocked for about a couple of years and loved how natural it felt. Nowadays, my hair is short.

PHILOSOPHY

I am an existentialist sort of person. I love to challenge the norm. But mainly I believe that love and peace are to be found everywhere, in anyone, all of the time.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

WHY COUCH SURF?

Couchsurfing was recommended to me by a guy I met on a plane. His stories sounded exciting and I love stories! I've added him as a CS friend.

Since 2013, I started travelling a lot more because of my occupation as a researcher, and this passion continued afterwards.

I've recently lived in Taipei, Taiwan, Durham, UK, and before that Finland, Czech Republic and Iceland.

Recently, my academic life re-started in Finland, so I live in a city where I spent a lot of my childhood growing up, sometimes seeing my grandmother, and spend lots of time alone.

Finland is a peaceful, natural environment, so I'd love to show you around some time. At present, I’ll be able to host people on my sofa because I no longer move around as much as I did in the past.

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I hope to stay with lots of fun and interesting people from all over the world. Life is a journey and I love how we meet different people. I believe that every Couch Surfing experience has been part of my destiny.

Likewise, when you send me a Couch Surfing request, I will always respond as positively as possible. I want to be a very hospitable host, which includes making you feel relaxed in my town or my home.

Interests

FIVE MAIN INTERESTS Running, photography, writing, traveling, yoga.

More interests include: arts and poetry, cooking and baking, marathons and other outdoor activities like swimming, Finnish sauna, music, ecology, and much more.

My next marathon will Stockholm, more than 10 years since the last time I attempted this race and I'm feeling prepared.

• arts
• writing
• poetry
• photography
• cooking
• baking
• yoga
• marathon
• running
• sauna
• traveling
• music
• outdoor activities
• swimming
• ecology

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: Twelve Monkeys, Lost in Translation, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Cocteau's 'The Blood of a Poet,' Doctor Strangelove, Ondine, etcétéra...
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Music: Nirvana, Mastodon, Pet Shop Boys, Beyond Good and Evil, A Tribe called Red, Björk, Philip Glass, etcétéra...
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Books: Romeo and Juliet, The Life of Pi, Insomnia, Satanic Verses, New York Trilogy, Freakonomics, The Last Temptation, etcétéra...

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

RUNNING ON INSPIRATION

I have met so many inspiring runners in my life. However, once I met a retired running hero, in the sauna of Scandic hotel in Stockholm. It was right before Stockholm marathon in 2012.

This man told me his personal best time and explained that he was even an international ultra-marathon running record holder. His body was in great shape at age 65!

Teach, Learn, Share

TEACHING WITH PASSION

Of course, being a sort of academic type, I am sure I can teach you all about a number of topics, including literature, politics, philosophy, energy, climate change and, of course, some languages.

I am a storyteller, too, so I can share a lot of inspiring stories. But I would love to learn more from Couch Surfers, such as how to develop yoga, or about local places and people.

I would love to teach about meditation, share my poetry, teach more about running.

We can share our personal philosophies and delicious recipes of cooking/baking, international beers, ales and wines, etcetera.

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Scotland, Serbia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Wales

Countries I’ve Lived In

Czech Republic, Finland, Iceland, Taiwan, United Kingdom