Geonaut of BP Geographic. Dare to use my own mind. Planet Earth First.

I regard myself as a traveller, I like to get to know this world. I've visited all six inhabited continents. At the moment I’m starting my own business. Before I've studied two semesters Journalism in Hannover, Germany, one course Chinese in Changsha, China, one semester Geography in Northampton, England, two semesters History and Archaeology in Perth, Scotland, and two semesters Tourism Management in Stirling, Scotland.

I've travelled to most countries in East and South East Asia, and several countries in Europe as well as Australia, America, and Africa. In 2012 and 2013 I was travelling most of the time. I've lived in Hong Kong for a few months and I've been there about 20 times, it's like my second home. I have friends in a hotel there so I can always get a cheap room.

I was born in Hannover, Germany and grew up nearby but I'm for a quarter Dutch because my grandfather was from the Netherlands. Not only because of that I'm quite international. Maybe I'm a bit like a nomad. I dream would be to live at different places each year, each one a few months, like Hong Kong, Kyrgyzstan, Kenya, Peru, Scotland, Germany...

I'm generally curious and like to learn new things, to get more knowledge. Whatever I'm doing I'm trying to protect the environment and to be sustainable. Two years ago I became a vegetarian, or at least semi-vegetarian generally. Last year I became a member of the National Geographic Society and of Greenpeace Greenwire.

Sometimes when I'm on an airplane or high place I'm just amazed how beautiful this planet is. The best piece of art. It has to be protected. And... RESIST Trump!

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Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Generally I'm not a tourist, I'm a traveller. At the moment I would like to see different places in Scotland, and get more friends here. Besides, I had a Couchsurfing account before, and I have good experiences with it. I got to know people here who are important for me nowadays.

Interests

• cats
• writing
• photography
• coffee
• reading
• traveling
• cars
• drawing
• geography
• history
• pizza
• london
• airplanes
• asia
• hong kong
• pasta
• new york
• cuzco
• edinburgh
• motorsport
• car design
• kenya
• kyrgyzstan
• bishkek

Music, Movies, and Books

I really like reading books and I would like to become an author. Partly I'm reading many books these days to prepare for that. I like reading true stories or novels playing at different places around the world, and I'm very interested in history, especially the 19th century. My favourite author is Karl May. I've even visited his house, the Villa Shatterhand, once. Otherwise I like books of, Frank Schaetzing, Han Suyin, Guo Xiaolu, Peter Hessler, etc., and also Harry Potter. I still want to read books of Mark Twain and also those about James Bond and Sherlock Holmes.

I like very different kind of music, ranging from the 1950s, 60s, 70s, even some from the 20s, to nowadays. My favourite female singers are Marit Larsen (I even got a letter from her once when I ordered a tote bag she was selling on her website) and Carly Rae Jepsen. My favourite male singers are Roy Orbison and Phil Collins. Otherwise Randy Crawford, Joshua Kadison, Ellie Goulding, Celine Dion, Rihanna, Zuccero, and others. I also really like some Asian music, I really like the Chinese singer Sa Dingding, including her songs in Tibetan and similar, and otherwise K-Pop. I also have songs in other languages like French, German, and Japanese. I just like a song if I like it, no matter from what time or country.

I don't watch many movies, I normally watch documentary shows and some TV series. I really like Sherlock (in the past I even had his hairstyle), and some Star Trek series, The Big Bang Theory, the documentary Mayday, etc. What's more, I like Formula One and other motorsports, I'm a fan of Mercedes-AMG in F1 and otherwise VW, Audi, Porsche in other series.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I've been to 34 countries on six continents.

Other than that, I had too many experiences during my journeys, it's too hard to pick one of them. I'll write a book about them. I visited many provinces in China, and the Expo 2010 in Shanghai. I've attended a traditional wedding in a small village on Java, Indonesia, and the wedding of my best friend (who's Indonesian) on Bali. Sometimes travelling wasn't easy, when I was running out of money, but at least I have stories to tell or write down...

Twice I was flying a small airplane by myself, except starting and landing. And I've driven a car at up to 240 km/h several times, on German motorways where it's allowed.

But I'm planning something. One day (not really "day") I want to go around the world by car (with a VW Touareg plug-in hybrid, to be sustainable), or at least from one continent to another, and produce a documentary about it.

Teach, Learn, Share

I actually worked as an English teacher and German teacher and I've even taught some basic Chinese before. I've learned a bit Indonesian, Cantonese, and French as well. I would like to learn Korean, Japanese, Spanish, Dutch, at least the basics, or some other languages. I guess I should learn that language of my grandfather... And I would like to get a pilot license, but I guess that's not what they asked for here.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I have many stories to tell, and I like to explain things, if people listen to me.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Cambodia, Canada, China, England, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Malaysia, Monaco, Netherlands, Peru, Qatar, Russian Federation, Scotland, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United States, Vatican City State, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

China, England, Germany, Hong Kong, Scotland