UPDATE: I sported this on my dashboard: "If any Ukrainians whose families need urgent long-term support stumble across this page, contact me!" and since received death threats from russians. I have decided not to host anymore, but better tend to my guns. Sad piece of garbage this world we live in.

CURRENT MISSION

I've just woken up after several years of drowning in a work routine. I want to drown in ocean currents again, push my freediving and scheme permanent emigration from a country hellbent on work performance and fast cars. Switzerland could have been nice, but it didn't turn out that way. Switzerland has essentially been suffocated by extensive traffic, poisoned by pesticides and stifled by a neo-conservative attitude. If you want to explore Switzerland with me, be prepared to hike into the real Alpine where there is perfect silence and the night sky engulfs your soul and the night swim in the mountain lake triggers your appetite for a true life.

ABOUT ME

Roger: I measure my self-worth by how different I am from some kind of dull and brainwashed collective. So, if all Switzerland drives past a pasture with grazing cows and a lot of plastic litter in between them, I'll be the goof picking up the litter of all the fucking Swiss zombies in their SUVs and their fancy motorcycles. And you know, with every minute I waste cleaning up the mess of the average idiot, I long for meeting other, like-minded people.

Pascale: curious as a new-born kitten, gentle, self-confident, loves nature, squirrels, good wine and food.

PHILOSOPHY

Well, I don't want to hurt your feelings, but global economy is going to suck dry all the resources for another ... 20 years? 30 years? We have somehow missed the miracle which is our blue planet and the awakening is going to be dire. My personal way of dealing with the ruthless truth of statistics is certainly not to accumulate money and possessions any longer. I want to live and contribute my part, as insignificant as it is, by undoing some of the harm which is being done everyday. At present, we are tending 3500m2 to reach a higher degree of biodiversity, especially focusing on wildflowers. We also have a big garden with potatoes, cabbages, strawberries, beans, tomatoes, herbs, salad and a lot more of veggies. We also have a greenhouse and I would love to share experiences when it comes to self-sustenance.

In the future, I would love to temporarily or permanently live on an island and protect this limited but remote piece of land by tending to it and live off the ocean and the land in a sustainable way. If I dive and I see a piece of plastic and a beautiful fish, I'll grab the piece of plastic and miss the shot on the fish. This sums up my philosophy.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Well, we have a farmhouse in a rural region of Switzerland where we have a huge garden and a wood-heated sauna, etc. Moreover, I can serve as a hiking/trekking guide, kayak is in the deal, barbecuing at the lake, tarzan rope and some night dives for the connoisseurs.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

There may be some people who do not see the project as we understand it, but there is an unproportionate number out there, who will not just be forgotten again, but thought of and cared about, and hey, we've found some friends for life, which is invaluable indeed.

Interests

Basic interests: languages, travelling, cuisine (CHOCOLATE, haha), indigenous cultures, water and mountains, animals, experiences that take you to the limit, physically and mentally.

Hobbies: Freediving, alpine trekking, sauna (wood-heated for god's sake!) kayaking, mma.

We are explicitly NOT interested in religions (which are purely ideologies and have resulted in a history of wars over 2000 years long). We DO respect local custom and listen to folklore and value the values which are worth doing so, but people should not forget that ideological notions create divisive lines and make it harder to see ourselves as one species on a unique planet.

• animals
• arts
• writing
• dining
• wine
• partying
• gardening
• traveling
• outdoor activities
• fishing
• hiking
• canoeing
• kayaking
• scuba diving
• martial arts
• swimming
• languages
• medicine
• tourism
• lakes
• mountains
• freediving
• wood and wood-craft

Music, Movies, and Books

The Old Man and the Sea (Hemingway); Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things (Lakoff); Peter Steele and his band (RIP Peter); all kinds of Metal, Rock, and Folk. More books: Kesey's One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest; Galgut's In A Strange Room; to mention but a few.

In particular, I adore documentaries about the few remote places on earth which are left today, among which the South Pacific region is my favourite!!!

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I lived on a Colombian farm, gathered mangoes and papayas, cooked with my local host, hunted an iguana with him, and saw a caiman on a nocturnal shrimpsfishing trip. Beautiful Colombia!

Teach, Learn, Share

How on earth are we expected to just love one person and why do we come to regard this person as our possession? There is no monopoly on love.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Sauna, breathtaking views on the Alps, ice-cold swims, bread and cheese, and chocolate, illegal activities and not getting caught, malty beer dark as truth.

In the farmhouse we are living at the moment, I have access to a lot of tools and we can also create things from wood (well, I am an amateur, but still...).

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Egypt, Finland, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Madagascar, Mexico, Morocco, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Réunion, Slovenia, Tunisia, Vanuatu, Venezuela

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, Switzerland

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