I got fed up with the office life about 10 years ago (well, I got fed up much earlier, but that's when I left it!). Since then, I went backpacking from Europe to Asia, traveled around Europe with my faithful travel companion, the Red Baroness (see pictures), and then lived in Istanbul for seven years. Long live the freedom! And now I am finally getting to explore the Americas!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

When I joined Couchsurfing back in Beijing, we were hosting non-stop - our record was 15 people at the same time, and the longest stay somewhere around 2 months. It was sooo good to have the world come visit when I couldn't go out to see it myself - and the amount of amazing people I met then is truly incredible. They were a huge inspiration for me to finally leave the safety of the office job!

Interests

Photography - I got into street photography while in Istanbul (amazing city for it!) and on my current trip it is possibly what I spend most of my time on!

Movies - Especially when I'm not on the road, I go to cinemas and film festivals religiously... even attended film school for a while!

Music - I play piano and synthesizer and love going to live music, particularly rock and electronic music. I also played synth in one of the most underrated bands of Beijing!

Hiking - I love to move by walking, be it long hikes in nature or a stroll through town... Not a fan of cars, although I do enjoy the occasional road trip!

• electronic music
• street photography

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies - Typically love anything with strong cinematography (such as Wong Kar Wai!), but also interesting themes and solid storytelling such as McDonagh, Haneke, Kieslowski, Wim Wenders, Maren Ade... Some of my favorites: Fitzcarraldo, Madeline's Madeline, Nights of Cabiria, On Body and Soul.

Music - Mostly well-made pop/rock and electronic, also some classical. Stuff like Björk, The Editors, Kishi Bashi, Crystal Castles, Fuck Buttons, Christian Löffler... Always up for a good concert!

Reading - All over the field, plenty of fiction (usually contemporary realist stuff), but also some history, politics, biographies, travelogues...

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Riding a campervan through Europe for six months - I've never felt this free!

Hiking the Lycian Way (500k between Fethiye and Antalya) also was great.

Teach, Learn, Share

I'm always learning a language (right now Spanish!), so would definitely be interested in exchanging helpful tips and tricks!

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Belize, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Mongolia, Montenegro, Myanmar, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Oman, Philippines, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Singapore, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Vatican City State, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

China, France, Germany, Netherlands, Russian Federation, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United States

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