+++ Please don't forget to read the My Home section before you decide to send me a CS request +++

My name is Jonathan, but usually people call me Joni. I’m a social worker specialising in child protection and participation and currently doing my master degree in social work as well. As for me being a guest, I'm really no-fuss and independent. It's very important to me not to be a burden when staying at another's house! I don’t expect my host to do more than giving me a place to sleep; everything going past this like spending time together, showing me the city, ... I receive very, very grate- and thankfully.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Why am I on Couchsurfing? Obviously because it is an easy and very efficient way to get in touch with locals and thus learn more about a countrys culture.

Interests

I'm very interested in getting to know new people and listen to their or any stories. I'm very interested in traveling and and music and literature. I used to be a long-distance runner (half marathon) and play a lot of volleyball.

• chocolate

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: Metal, Jazz, Samba/Bossa Nova

Books: Speaking of authors: Gabriel García Márquez, John Irving, Michael Ende, Goethe, Friedrich Schiller, Henry D. Thoreau, Ayelet Gundar-Goshen, Hermann Hesse, Wolfgang Borchert, Walter Moers, Stéphane Hessel, Lessing, Hans Christian Andersen, ...

Movies: 12 Angry Men, Into the Wild, Dallas Buyers Club, Million Dollar Baby, The Color Purple, Princess Mononoke, Big Fish, ...

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

My four years abroad in Japan, Paraguay and Brazil. Never have I had such an access to foreign cultures and their people. With no doubt these four years had an immense influence on my personality.

Amazing things I've seen:
• Mount Everest
• Tierra del Fuego
• Yguasú and Victoria Falls
• a cornfield full of fireflies below a sky full of stars
• top of Mount Roraima
• Lençóis Maranhenses
• Elbsandsteingebirge
• Machu Picchu

Teach, Learn, Share

I can share the experiences I made during my trips, maybe some of them can teach you something, but I suppose that depends more on the listener than on the narrator.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I guess if you're interested in it I can share my professional expertise on child protection from a social workers view.

In addition, I'd like to point to the webpage of the NGO I've founded with a friend that is dedicated to support projects with children in Paraguay: http://tape-paraguay.com/

Peace.

Countries I’ve Visited

Andorra, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Ethiopia, France, French Guiana, Germany, Greece, Guyana, Hungary, Iceland, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Latvia, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Morocco, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, Palestine, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Suriname, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Zambia

Countries I’ve Lived In

Brazil, Germany, Japan, Paraguay