CURRENT MISSION

Surf the world

ABOUT ME

Now about me. I am a person who likes outdoor adventures. Backpacking, kayaking, cycling, hang gliding. Also like to dance and of course, love meeting new people and learning about new cultures. I consider myself easy to get along with.
My next adventure in life is to live for three months in Berlin, Germany. Did that, now would like to live there for 1 year. Spent 3 months in Budapest, Hungary as well. Just love to travel. Doing the Airbnb thing these days.

PHILOSOPHY

Very simple:
Live life now. Soon it will be too late.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Hosting and surfing.
Well, I participate by hosting, surfing and taking time to learn about the cultures and interests of fellow surfers. It's great to meet new people from different places and hear about their lives and travels. I thought I was the #1 host in Salem, but I have been replaced by.... yeah Sarah Bjerke. I know she is better looking than me but c'mon guys. Seriously, Sarah is a great host and we usually meet up and have drinks with the surfers we host. But now, Sarah has moved. Major bummer that. Hopefully, she might be back. I will try to pick up the slack.
Sarah is still away living in Hawaii, but is missing Salem a lot. I think she will be back before too long. I am still hosting CSers but not as many as the old days. I will be away this spring, for I will be living in Berlin. Yes, a dream come true. So I won't be around to host summer of 2013.
At the end of my time in Berlin, I plan to do some traveling around Europe and thus will be surfing once again meeting new people and enjoying life.
Been surfing in France, The Netherlands, India, Iceland, Costa Rica and Portland, Maine.

Burning Man 2009: Couchsurfing campBurning Man 2010: Tahoe campBurning Man 2012: Twisted Sister camp
visited 10 states (4.44%)Create your own visited map of The World or try another Douwe Osinga project

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Hosting experiences listed below and so far they've all been great.
Love having surfers visit and showing them Salem.

Hosted:
Anand Gona - 1 Night
Meriem - 14 Nights
Shannon Carroll - 2 Nights
Tim Kerr - 1 Night
Ali Cook - 1 Night
Julia and Bertrand - 1 Night
Laurie and Remi - 2 Nights
Mia - 2 Nights
Eddie and Rachael - 3 Nights
Akshay and Peter - 3 Nights
Ben - 1 Night
Cat - 4 Nights
Karolita - 1 Night
Becky & Alison - 2 Nights
Greg - 1 Night
Betsy - 2 Nights
Samuel and Alwin - 7 Nights
Deana and Carmen - 3 Nights
Anahi Costa - 2 Nights
M.J. De La Cruz - 1 Night
Brendon and Cara - 1 Night
Manuela and Teresa - 2 Nights
Louisa and Black Angel - 1 Night
Damon and Anna - 2 Nights
George/Elis - 2 Nights

Surfed:
Ellen (San Jose, Costa Rica) - 4 Night
Elie Dumas (Grenoble, France) - 1 Night
Cecile (Valence, France) - 3 Nights
Fred Bastien (Chambery, France) - 1 Night
Marion & Rémi (Grenoble, France) - 1 Night
Eric (Burlington, Vt) - 1 Night
Kacie (Washington, D.C.) - 2 Nights
Swapan (Mumbai, India) - 1 Night
KaCeY cHanDler (Bangalore, India) - 2 Nights
Stephanie (Portland,ME) - 1 Night
Alex (Portland, ME) - 2 Nights
Gudlaug (Iceland) - 3 Nights
Sabrina (Iceland) - 3 Nights
Tejas (Delhi, India) - 1 Night
Margit (Amsterdam) - 1 Night

Traveled With:
Moshe (India)
Stephanie (India)
Suzanne (India)

Interests

Traveling in general, backpacking, kayaking, cycling, snowboarding, music, dancing (swing, wanna learn tango). Very interested in learning about different cultures and places.

• dancing
• tango
• cooking
• drinking
• traveling
• music
• outdoor activities
• cycling
• backpacking
• kayaking
• camping
• surfing
• hang gliding

Music, Movies, and Books

Music:
Listening to a lot of Bjork these days. Her music gets into my soul, to the very core of me. Just can't get enough. Recently got turned onto Bat for Lashes, so add that to the list. Speaking of the list… Ambient music (Nomand by Niraj Chag or Dunia by Bliss), Imogen Heap, world music, jazz, classical and yah some pop too. Some specifics, Daby Toure, Pat Matheny, Georg Philipp Telemann and many more.

Movies:
I watch a lot of movies. Love foreign dramas, mysteries, old classics and war movies. I have to admit I do watch and like watching romantic comedies and animations. Some favorites: Saving Private Ryan, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Pans Labyrinth, Ratatouille, The Incredibles. Some specifics, Fire, Water and Earth. Blue, Red and White. Just watched Tell No One (Ne le dis à personne) a really good French mystery.

Books:
The last book I read that really affected me was "Three Cups of Tea" but right now I am mostly reading technical books.
Funny in Farsi: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America by Firoozeh Dumas
Big fan of David Sedaris

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air. . . .

Up, up the long, delirious burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or ever eagle flew —
And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

— John Gillespie Magee, Jr

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Lithuania, Malta, Morocco, Netherlands, Panama, Poland, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Tunisia, United Kingdom, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Albania, Germany, Hungary, United States

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