CURRENT MISSION

For my dreams to be jealous of my reality

ABOUT ME

My biggest passion is traveling. I love exploring foreign cultures and environments that are outside of my comfort zone.

I am a big fan of the outdoors and enjoy living an active lifestyle: Hiking, Camping, Skiing, Boogie Boarding, Roller Blading, and Rock Climbing to name a few. I studied Film and TV in University, and enjoy filmmaking and photography. I love all kinds of food, music, and am always willing to try something new. I'm a big fan of beautiful views, tea, spontaneity, saunas, complete randomness, concerts, raves, anything that glows in the dark, getting lost, timelapse photography, long exposure photography, experiencing different cultures, and meeting new people.

I share my travel experiences, along with philosophy and advice, photos, videos, and useful gear/resources on my website: www.openmindedtravel.com
Please feel free to check it out.

PHILOSOPHY

-No regrets; Just lessons learned.
-Pursue happiness as the ultimate currency, not monetary wealth.
-"Do not go where the path may lead. Instead go where there is no path and leave a trail." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
-"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain
-We all need to make journeys, but do we define the journey, or is it the journey that defines us
-You are only as open minded as the vastness of your experiences
-"When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us." - Helen Keller

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have surfed two couches in Paris, and I've actually hosted two local CSers while backpacking abroad in Helsinki.
I try to meet locals for drinks wherever I go, and when I'm home, I enjoy meeting travelers for drinks and showing them around. Once I get my own place, I'll be hosting.

Interests

• culture
• photography
• film making
• concerts
• festivals
• dining
• beer
• sauna
• walking
• drinking
• raves
• tv
• traveling
• music
• outdoor activities
• hiking
• backpacking
• camping
• jet skiing
• scuba diving
• sailing
• skydiving
• skiing
• rock climbing
• emergency services
• hitchhiking
• lakes
• rivers
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

I thoroughly enjoy entertainment. My love of movies and music are so extensive that they would need its own separate CS page, so I won't even go into details now. But I literally love all forms of entertainment :)

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Life itself is so amazing, that is it even possible to list just one thing?

-Cliffdiving in Hawaii and New Zealand.
-Driving 138MPH (222KMH) on the highway (and not getting pulled over).
-Working on a Hollywood feature film, and also being an extra in one.
-ATVing on the sand dunes in Mexico.
-Jet Skiing along the coast of California, next to a fire in Malibu.
-Driving a motorboat with friends through the canals in Amsterdam.
-Skydiving in New Zealand, and Jumping off the Auckland SkyTower.
-River Rafting through the Daintree Rainforest in Australia, and Scuba Diving the Great Barrier Reef.
-Hitchhiking around Iceland and sleeping in Gymnasiums before realizing it was time to buy a tent.
-Cannstatter Wasen Beer Festival in Germany.
-Climbing Ruins in the countryside of Austria in the pitchblack of night, with only a cell phone to light the way.
-Walking on the FDR Highway in Manhattan NYC (which apparently is a no-pedestrian zone) in a snowstorm with a friend, when someone in the UN saw us as "potential terrorists" and called the police. So the cops picked us up and drove us to the Queensboro Bridge so we could walk across it for fun.
-Finding an ancient clay pot just offshore of the Greek Island Ikaria
-Shimmying alongside a cliff in the Zagorohoria Mountains in Northern Greece in a thunderstorm, to find an overhanging rock after 2 km for a breathtaking view.
-Being invited into amazing peoples' homes to sleep on their couches and be exposed to their local culture in Greece and Norway without the help of CS
-Getting a tour INSIDE the Parthenon in the Athenian Acropolis
-Experiencing an intense 8 hour hike in Norway's Naeroyfjord, with no path. We hiked in rain and fog, through marshes, climbed over boulders, crossed rivers and waterfalls, passed lakes and goats, and stumbled upon wild Cloudberries. And as we reached the top, the clouds parted and a rainbow emerged with the most stunning view imaginable.
-Having an up-close encounter with an enormous eagle in Arctic Norway.
-Hitchhiking past a triple rainbow on my way to the Northernmost point in Continental Europe.
-Witnessing the Northern Lights
-Spending a few nights in a Finnish cottage on a lake in the middle of a forest, with a traditional Finnish Sauna

Teach, Learn, Share

There are so many things I want to learn. It is endless.
But I can teach you about photography, filmmaking, and Japanese culture.
And I love sharing stories. But don't we all :)

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Japan, United Kingdom, United States

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