I don't love talking about myself in general terms but I'll do my best. In January I quit my job as a Software Engineer at Google after 4 years. Now I'm inviting in uncertainty and adventure as I travel freely. I'm letting go of much of the things that once gave me purpose and safety but still holding on to friends and a daily meditation practice for sanity.

I try to avoid attachment to outcomes so I can't say I'm looking for anything specific but I came to couchsurfing to open the door to meet new people. I love to do almost everything active (hiking, dancing, soccer, rock climbing) and I enjoy talking about life although my general philosophy is that everything exists in a balance and nothing is so urgent that we cannot relax in this moment enough to observe something unexpected in our surroundings.

I value honesty and openness above all. In my opinion, nothing is off limits for discussion (but we can discuss that...). I believe that if we understand each others' pasts, we will understand each others' actions.

I also love accents!! Doing accents, hearing accents, everything accents!!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I want to live in a way that I meet a wide range of people. Traveling is amazing for this because in different places there are different people, doing different things, at different times in their lives. The one limitation I have observed has been experiencing new places through hostels and tourist bubbles which narrows who I encounter. I will continue to stay at hostels because I meet so many wonderful people but I'd like to open the door to meet locals, to meet non-travelers, to speak local languages, to prepare and eat home-cooked food, to meet families and children, to experience life behind the tourist curtain.

Interests

• dancing
• running
• meditation
• reading
• hiking
• rock climbing
• soccer
• hockey
• philosophy
• psychology
• the art of living
• contact imrov

Music, Movies, and Books

I like all kinds of music and my taste changes every day. I love Pop Smoke, Bad Bunny, Kendrick, Cardi B, L'Impératrice, Supertramp, Miley Cyrus, Kaleo... Yesterday I discovered Canserbero (check him out) and you can add him to the list!! My favorite songs at this moment according to Spotify are Olalla and Bamboléo! I highly recommend both!

Right now I'm enjoying the tv show Money Heist (La Casa de Papel). I want to watch Stromberg which is apparently the German version of The Office (which I loved)

Books: friend me on goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/108265197-dominik-schmidtlein
I'm interested in a variety: philosophy, psychology, politics, sociology, sci-fi. My favorite book in recent memory is The Will to Change by bell hooks

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I showed up at a 10 day silent meditation course without knowing much about meditation or the course. On day 4, I struggled and battled and swore I would never do it again but ultimately it was one of the greatest choices I've made. I'll be back. I'd love to talk about it

Oh... Also I got up on stage at a standup show without any content and bombed for 5 minutes. I have a video but I've never watched it. Maybe you can convince me

Teach, Learn, Share

I think of everything I know as a language that gives me a toolbox. I'm open to sharing any of them!

Spoken languages: English, German, French, Spanish
Programing languages: C++, Java, Python, Javascript, etc...
Other languages: contact improvisation, rock climbing, soccer, attachment theory, social justice

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can promise that I'll bring my most honest and authentic self. I'm kind, loving and open and invite everyone to bring their most authentic self as well.

I'm not particularly experienced at working with my hands but I'm interested! If you have a project maybe I can help you, I want to learn!

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Canada, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, Germany, Luxembourg, United States