Hello!

So, my name is Jim, I'm from somewhere out there for many of you all the way in New Zealand. This may be a bit boring because I figured everything I wanted to write about is pretty much covered in the other sections...

I'll be honest, I haven't had the most exciting set of events in my life, partly because of my upbringing and partly because I've just entered university. One of my great goals is to meet people and build bridges, especially international bridges, as I am very curious about how it was like growing up and living in far places in the world (to me everywhere seems like quite a far away place...). I've also found out recently I like teaching and telling people about things.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

It's one thing travelling, but meeting someone there and getting to know the society and people there is another. I haven't travelled too often in my life, but throughout my travels, it's not been so common that I've gotten to know the people and society there very well.

Before I hadn't given much thought to this, I never had the feeling of missing out on the society and all that before, but recently I've been on a volunteer programme to teach English at a primary school in Hungary. There I stayed for a long time, got to meet people there and realised just how very different it was compared to just cruising around places and taking a few photos. I believe by meeting someone and living on their couch, one can get to know the place a lot better than "just another tourist"

Interests

Many things, including but not limited to airsoft, history (particularly from the last century), music, modelling (plastic models), tanks, planes, technology, and others which aren't on the top of my head at the moment. Oh and Top Gear!

• festivals
• chocolate
• technology
• traveling
• socializing
• music
• engineering
• history
• volunteering

Music, Movies, and Books

Mostly classical music (Mendelssohn, Mahler, Tchaikovsky, all the Strausses, Beethoven, etc. etc.), newfound interest in opera.

I tend to like historic movies which show the tragedy of war as opposed to a glorification of it (e.g. Unsere Mütter, unsere Väter and most modern day German produced films on the war), along with anything which is funny without being overdone.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I have played in various orchestras through my life, but the one highlight I have is probably having the opportunity to play as a soloist for one of them. It really was such an amazing experience (for me at least, I hope the audience enjoyed it too...), also having the opportunity to play in an orchestra in the Berlin Konzerthaus as a part of a music festival.

I have also visited one of the holy grails for the tank-lover, The Tank Museum in Bovington :)

Teach, Learn, Share

I'm always eager to learn about new and different things (some things more than others maybe, but anyway). I also really love telling people of the things I've picked up over time, and with my broad set of interests and both musical and engineering background, I think (hope) most people find it interesting :)

I'm also from New Zealand, which, contrary to popular belief, isn't inhabited by elves and dwarves and hobbits (sad as it may be), and yes, we do have 7x the amount of sheep to people.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I will bring joy to your life, promise.

Ok maybe not quite, but I can bring chocolate which is just as close I think :)

On a serious note, I can share various stories and facts about all sorts of things I'm interested in, ranging from topics which probably will bore you to death (for instance, the inner workings of a mechanical pencil sharpener) all the way to the most important questions known to man (why does Mt Eden Prison in Auckland look like an office block?). I also always love a good discussion on anything with the vaguest connection to my interests.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, China, Czech Republic, England, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Slovenia

Countries I’ve Lived In

New Zealand