ABOUT ME

Since summer 2015 I'm back in Berlin.

My job permits me to combine two of my passions - travelling and politics. Still, sometimes I wonder if I should start something completely new. Like opening that language school I've been dreaming of, combining language classes with improv theater. Or journalism. ... Or offering tours through Europe, combining fun with the best of culture, beer and veggie cuisine each country has to offer.

Well, for now these remain dreams, but I already do practice with friends (and couchsurfers): preparing delicious special pesto variants, occasionally organizing blind beer tastings, giving improv-language workshops.

I always loved to travel, experiencing different cultures, lifestyles and languages. Plus, I enjoy meeting new people, so when I first heard of couchsurfing, I knew I'd love it! Hm ... I guess that's written on 4 out of 5 CS profiles. But true nevertheless.

When I still lived in Berlin, a German TV channel made a documentary comparing couchsurfing hosts in Berlin and Paris. The couchsurfer in Berlin happend to be me. Check it out on YouTube and you know more or less what to expect: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHjj_ZaquO4

PHILOSOPHY

Cosmopolitan, libertarian, humanist?
I hope for a cultural and mental globalization that benefits all, a world in which national borders are seen as bridges, not walls. Society should broaden personal freedom, not limit it. Countries and governments were created to serve people, not the other way round.
And finally - I'm fascinated by people who find spirituality without religion.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

hosting & surfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I met fantastic people from all over the world, both hosting and surfing

Interests

Politics, traveling, literature, languages, improv theater.

Coffee, cycling, reading the Economist, Rio de Janeiro, beer, snow-boarding, skiing, Berlin, seeing wildlife, following election results come in, bets on election results, commenting election results, cooking, Italy, Italian food, Thai food, rainy season, thunderstorms, the Pacific Northwest, coffee, elephants, hiking in the desert, reading books about politics, history or languages, Santa Fe, the Simpsons, kayaking, Brazilian Portuguese, flip flops, mountains, trekking in the Himalayas, Der Spiegel, more coffee, Phi Phi Island, diving (just started), meditation, Dutch drug policies (before Geert Wilders changed them), swimming pools, airlines, BBC, Homo Faber, monkeys, still more coffee...

• wildlife
• culture
• literature
• italian food
• cooking
• beer
• coffee
• vegetarian
• meditation
• politics
• reading
• traveling
• cycling
• hiking
• snowboarding
• economics
• history
• languages
• mountains
• improv
• improv theater

Music, Movies, and Books

Quite an eclectic choice. Last books which I found inspiring or which boggled my mind:
"Saturday"
"Through the Language Glass - why the world looks different in other languages"
"Theories of International Politics - and Zombies"
"A case of exploding mangoes".

When it comes to movies, I enjoy a wide range, from Skandinavian minimalist dogme movies to Hollywood thrillers. However, pure action movies tend to bore me (as does watching sports).

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Lived in one of the most bizarre (and depressing) countries in the world, for a couple of weeks: North Korea. That was weird. And fascinating, and mind-opening. And still - depressing.
So sad that such places still exist!

Teach, Learn, Share

I had lots of fun offering workshops which combine teaching basic German with improv theater. Curious? Find out more:
http://www.facebook.com/INSELinstitute
or
http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=639&post=5516231#gpid5516231

(needless to say: for CS, these workshops are free)

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Canada, Finland, France, India, Italy, Mexico, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Germany, Nigeria, North Korea

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