Since five years, I have not felt like a traveler, moving out of my comfort zone, exploring the unknown. Now, I am about to go to South Africa for a two months research stay, and I must say, I am excited!
Therefore, I am happy to be a researcher. My job brings me in contact with people who I wouldn't meet otherwise. I may learn from other people's perspectives that I wouldn't notice otherwise.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Although my account is already 10 years old, I have only few actual couchsurfing experience. My only stays in Bosnia, the Netherlands and Germany were very fruitful encounters though! Nevertheless, outside of the couchsurfing community, I had more such encounters, like people crushing on our couch. Or me crushing on their's...
I think, couchsurfing addressed values that often go short in our societies. It is about trusting strangers and about being unprejudiced. I like to re-discover these values again and purpursefully. Not that I would be a very untrusting and prejudiced person, but moving out of my comfort zone has a lot to do with opening up and trusting the moment. Hence, I am looking forward to discovering the people of South Africa!

Interests

learning, feeling, experiencing nature, meeting people I don't know yet, and to cook for them (also the ones I know already (; )

• cooking
• socializing
• cycling
• mountains
• handicrafts

Music, Movies, and Books

I'm just reading Steinbeck's "The grapes of wrath". It is still a truthful description of how people's destiny can be determined by a rampant economy... It puts the reader in the shoes of people who lost everything and are on a way that is determined by destiny and friendliness, but what they find is hatred. This book holds up the mirror to the readers. It really touches me as in Europe at the moment people get scared of people, of people who had to flee and have lost everything...

Music: alt-j, bon iver, bonobo, ben howard, bombay bicycle club, haha, just following my spotify list of artists... bloc party, also sometimes more punk and hardcore such as millencollin, rise against, ignite, as well as classical music

I like movies, I really do. But I can never remember what they were about...

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I love climbing mountains. And I am always quite proud, that I made it... being up there, enjoying the peace, being close to myself and nature.

I hiked the GR20 on Corsica.

Teach, Learn, Share

The upside down world educates us to see our neighbour as threaten rather than as promise. It urges us to loneliness and comforts us with drugs and cybernetic friends. Eduardo Galeano “El mundo al revés”

What I Can Share with Hosts

Everything what I can...

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Belize, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, France, Guatemala, India, Italy, Macedonia, Montenegro, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Uzbekistan

Countries I’ve Lived In

Bolivia, Germany, Mexico, Netherlands