CURRENT MISSION

Travelling to raw horizons on the mind-map.

ABOUT ME

I'm an outgoing and curious person, who loves to be around people, but also needs his moments of solitude. I'm interested in the world we live in, its people and lives and stories and I travel as a means of learning about the human condition. I've been on the road since May 2012. My journey is a slow one and I try to immerse myself into places and local cultures rather than hasting from one sight to the next. I've worked as a volunteer for nonprofits along the way and earn my living as a freelance writer and photographer. I'm a very open and respectful person, who doesn't need much to be happy. I'm trying to have a work-life balance that is more on the life side. I'm an honest and upright person, some might call it blunt. I embrace change and uncertainty and prefer them over safety, all too tight plans and the illusion of predictability. Please have a look at my blog, if you're interested in some of my thoughts and photographs.

PHILOSOPHY

The dream doesn't mind if you leave it behind, but once you do it'll never come true.

WEBSITE

www.milesastray.com

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I am currently on a Trip that started in May 2012. Along the way I was lucky enough to stay with some great hosts. Whenever I'm back in Germany or settle down somewhere else I'd be happy to host people.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have couchsurfed with different people in South America, in total for roughly 2,5 months. I hosted people in my flat in Cologne and stayed with people all over the world but used couchsurfing for the first time in 2013.

Interests

I like to explore the world to see what life's like elsewhere, to immerse myself into different cultures and try to catch a glimpse at the human condition. Along the was I love to just randomly roam the streets of cities or stare at landscapes with my headphones in. I take photos and write and I'm interested in the psychology, philosophy and physics behind people and things.

• writing
• photography
• reading
• traveling
• music
• philosophy
• physics
• psychology
• people

Music, Movies, and Books

I listen to almost any kind of music except for Pop, Metal and House. Favorites are Classic Rock, Indie-Rock and Hip Hop. Bob Dylan, The Stones, The War On Drugs, Jurassic 5, Horrorshow, Hilltop Hoods, Arctic Monkeys, Beirut, Broken Bells, Digitalism, Pearl Jam, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding, Neil Young, Run on Sentence, Manu Chao, Radiohead, Spoon, Neutral Milk Hotel, The Velvet Underground, The Cult and many more.

The great classics are my favorite reads. John Steinbeck, Herman Hesse, Friedrich Nietzsche, Oscar Wilde, Hemingway, Mark Twain, Jack Kerouac. Shantaram, The Grapes Of Wrath, On the Road, Schön ist die Jugend. Philosophy, Psychology, Physics, Biology.

I like to watch movies with twist endings, suspense and the kind of movie that can be considered art; and old movies. Woody Allen, Quentin Tarantino, Christopher Nolan, Guy Ritchie, Martin Scorsese, Alfred Hitchcock, The Cohen Brothers, Brian de Palma. Manhattan, Pulp Fiction, North by Northwest, 12 Angry Men, Fight Club, Chinatown, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Goodfellas, Heat. Al Pacino, Robert de Niro, Jack Nicholson. And pretty much anything that is not too shitty to bear.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Travel the world since 2012.

Teach, Learn, Share

Let's share a beer and a conversation.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Stories and a laugh.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Belize, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, France, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Laos, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Monaco, Morocco, Nepal, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Panama, Philippines, Portugal, Slovakia, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tonga, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Bolivia, Canada, Ecuador, France, Germany, India, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru