Firstly, please read this:
(I second my friend, Ryan Chapman, on this matters - hope you don’t mind, Ryan ;))

For those of you Couchsurfers whom I don’t know and sent me friend request, thank you. However, most of the times, I ignore the request. I'm sure you're a lovely, well-meaning person, but I will not accept unless we're actually friends, or I've met you in person, or if you write to me with some compelling reason why we need to be Couchsurfing friends. Just send me a message if you need something; I'll sort you out.

I love having fun and enjoying life to the fullest. Hey, life is too short not to. Getting lost in foreign countries where the spoke language differs from mine is fascinating to me. So is being able to meet fun people around the world, and make friends along the way while exploring and discovering. I enjoy learning to help myself to grow into a better person, while I'm at it.

I’ve been traveling since early age; started off with local travel of course, like flying off to Bali from Java, then to United States in (1998), Japan (1999). Decided to stay in California after finishing my study at the Berkeley English Academy in Berkeley. I have been living in Berkeley and Oakland ever since before settling in beautiful San Francisco January 2007.

I spend most my weekdays at the office as an Analyst in the Clinical Laboratory Administration at UCSF Health. The rest of the time, I am either on the road visiting local hot-spots, hitting some cool hiking trails, hanging with friends or being creative with my hobby in soap-making.

Ideally, I travel once or twice each year, though at one point, I spent so much time in Germany from 2010 - 2013 and yet .... my German speaking-skill is unfortunately still very .....limited indeed. Definitely need more practice.

TRAVEL, HIKING and LANGUAGES to name a few, are my biggest passion in life; that’s where I invested so much money on. For me, knowledge and experience are treasure and worth more than any material things. I love meeting people from all over the world, learning their way of life, culture, language, food and tradition. I enjoy learning and trying new things and challenging myself to do things outside of my comfort zone; climbing an active volcano, mountain, sailing a remote island. I have been thinking of doing sky-diving for a while now. Just gathering bit more courage to do it, haha :).
Simply put - I LOVE and always up for adventures!!!

PHILOSOPHY
Treat others the way you’d like to be treated!

I learned from someone I knew and admired dearly (though he doesn’t know it):
Give respect = get respect ... exactly in that order.

The world is my playground - venturing out, exploring and discovering the amazing things the world has to offer. And it is endless!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Well, I enjoy meeting people!
I think it's really cool to be able to couch-surfing; staying with the locals and getting to know them, their country and tradition. The locals are most of the time the best guide in my opinion -- they know their way around, what to do and where to go best. I'd like to offer the same when I have the opportunity to host fellow couch surfers. I would enjoy showing my guests the beauty of the city and its surrounding and exploring it together, and perhaps taking them to the clubs, restaurants, and cafes if they’re up for it of course.

I hosted a couple of couch surfers in the past before I decided to close my old Couch Surfing account. Now ... I am re-opening that possibility again as I'm also ready to step out into the world more often. I will be in MALTA and Italy mid-November, so I hope to meet some locals and other travelers while I’m there. Currently, I am learning Italian; would be awesome to be able to say one or two sentences, haha.

Interests

• animals
• culture
• theater
• photography
• salsa dancing
• dining
• wine
• cocktails
• wine tasting
• yoga
• traveling
• music
• classical music
• jazz
• guitar
• outdoor activities
• hiking
• backpacking
• camping
• whitewater rafting
• sports
• languages
• language exchange
• road trips
• beaches
• mountains
• travel
• nature
• massage
• meeting new people
• healthy lifestyle

Music, Movies, and Books

Phew...favourite music; Jazz, Classical, Rock, bit of heavy metal and world music. I'm not really into rap, hip pop or country.

Depending on the mood; I enjoy listening to Enigma, Delerium, Tiësto, Queen, Genesis, Nirvana, U2, The Doors, R.E.M, Rammstein, The Proclaimers, Buena Vista Social Club, Paris Combo, Silbermond, Helene Fischer, Adele, Edith Piah, Carla Bruni, Bebel Gilberto, Antônio Carlos Jobim, Chris Botti, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra to name a few.

Movies: oh wow..can't recall the last time I saw a movie in a theater - definitely it's been ... a while :)
But, I enjoy a low-key, chilling and streaming Netflix for some suspense, thriller, foreign or action movies.

To name a few: Lola Rennt, Das Boot, Das Leben Der Anderen, Der Untergang, Sophie Scholl – Die letzten Tage, Comedian Harmonists, Die Fälscher (The Counterfeiters), Goodbye Lenin, Ein Lied von Liebe und Tod (Gloomy Sunday), Nirgendwo in Afrika (Nowhere in Africa), Der Tunnel, Barbara, Zwartboek (Black Book), Blow, LOTR trilogy, Dirty Dancing ... far too many to list them all.

Books: I will just have to put this activity aside for now....however, I enjoy books that help me learn and grow as a person, to be a better person for myself and others.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Hmm...I guess it's when the time I decided to pack my tiny suitcase and fly to California with only $1500 in my pocket and found myself landed in Los Angeles.
I was 22 years old, just fresh out of college. Not knowing where to go or what to do when I get to California and the fact that I knew no one - it's an amazing thing! Scary, but amazing! 😉 That counts, right?

What else...hmm..I climbed two active volcanoes in Bali, sailing blindly into deserted island in the dark with teeny-tiny wooden boat with no headlights or first aids kit or rescue team, and getting dangerously so close to the giant Komodo dragon. I did my very first white water rafting camp in Thailand and jumped over 2 meters high waterfall.

I've been thinking of doing Sky-Diving for a long time, but ..still trying to gather my courage to do it, hahaha. Definitely will do it at least once in my entire life and kick that fear of height out of my system.

Teach, Learn, Share

I'd be happy to teach you how to cook some Indonesian dish, or soap/candle making if anyone interested.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can take you on a great hike, show you some interesting places in and and around San Francisco. Smile, laughter, humor, good conversation (I'll let you be the judge on that), travel/life experience, maybe a good bottle of wine, breakfast or dinner.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Croatia, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Peru, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Germany, Indonesia, United States