ABOUT ME

Hi, my name is Simon and I currently live with my girlfriend, Rose. I studied Economics and now work as a policy analyst on Social Policy. I was in the local scouts organisation for years and years, and love sports, ranging from kayaking to horse riding to squash and rock climbing, but am currently mostly active in Aikido. I also volunteer in a non-profit geared toward improving the labour market opportunities of underprivileged children.
I try to make the best of everything, and enjoy the little things in life.

PHILOSOPHY
Hard to pin down, let's call me a pragmatist. I always respect other people's choices and viewpoints if they respect mine. I love a good debate, and some of my best friends have completely different political views than I do. The trick is not to try to convince the other party, but to try and understand where they're coming from and why they think/see/do as they do.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE
I've had the account for ages, but was never very active. Only a handful of experiences, but they were all great so I would like to discover the idea anew.
A friend of mine does it quite a lot, both hosting and surfing, and he often brings his couchsurfers over when he comes over for a drink. Those are always very nice people, from allover the world and all walks of life.

Interests

I do a lot of sports. I can be interested by everything, from science to politics to current affairs and Philosophy, but mainly Economics and Politics. I commited myself in my local youth organisation(scouts) and a local Non Profit Organization, even now on Erasmus I stay in touch to help them.
I also love reading and can always enjoy a good movie. I love discovering new people, places, food etc

• arts
• beauty
• dining
• running
• drinking
• politics
• reading
• traveling
• hiking
• kayaking
• camping
• surfing
• atheism
• sports
• martial arts
• rock climbing
• racquetball
• economics
• science
• study abroad
• squash

Music, Movies, and Books

All kinds of movies, from really good to so bad they turn good. Al kinds of genres, from fantasy and sci-fi to comedy, action, documentaire, whatever.
Same with music, I can enjoy classical, rock, metal, DnB, reggea, jazz... I'll listen to almost any genre, if for nothing else then just to discover it.
Regarding books, mostly Fantasy, Sci-Fi and Economic or Political works.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I have an image from my childhood, when I was about 13 years old, that was just amazing. I was with the scouts and it started to rain while we were camping. In the maybe 15 seconds it took me to run from the leaders tent to mine, the drip had transformed in a storm, full with lighting and thunder. As I checking to make sure the tent was secure against the wind, I saw the most amazing lighting strike I had ever seen, and have not seen anything like it since then. We were camping on the side of a valley, and the lighting struck in the lowest point, where the village was. For a fraction of a second the pitch black starless night was transformed and the outline of the lighting bolt, from cloud to wherever it hit on the ground, complete with side branches. It showed the raw power and pure beauty of nature and that image has never left me, I was so amazed.

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Montenegro, Netherlands, Slovakia, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Belgium, Turkey