Hello, I am a teacher geography at a secondary school in Ypres. I live in the small city of Wervik (near the French border).

I am an open minded, curious person and love experiencing new things. Travelling, meeting new people and experiencing new ways of life is what I like to do. One of my passions was making videos and short films (http://vimeo.com/phovid/videos). My biggest passion nowadays is photography, digital + (monochrome) analogue (https://www.instagram.com/phovidbw I also have another digital account). Following a 7-year course 'Analog Black and White Photo Art' at the academy of fine arts. Finshed this in June 2024.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Meet people, regardless of their gender, age, religion, race or nationality.
Learn from each other's culture, experiences and values.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Before CS, I was about 23 years member of Servas (https://servas.org/). So, couchsurfing was not new to me.
In April 2015 I hosted my first CS-guest and it was a great experience. Since then, I regularly hosted.
Had my first experiences as a travelling couchsurfer in Summer 2016 in Czech Republic, Slovakia and Denmark. It were awesome experiences, as in my Servas-days! This is the way to travel and meet "real" people.

Experience with sending requests: it's a pity that some CS'ers don't reply (even just declining). The only annoying thing so far about CS for me.

Interests

Video (https://vimeo.com/phovid/videos), photography (https://www.instagram.com/phovidbw), travelling, nature, graphic design, vintage lenses, a good conversation, all kinds of creative expression (theatre, music, bodypaint, poetry, audiovisual performance, drawing, dance, painting, ...), getting connected with different people and cultures, absorb new experiences and lifestyles.

• arts
• culture
• performing arts
• graphic design
• photography
• traveling
• music
• hiking
• teaching
• geography
• history
• nature
• video
• vintage lenses
• meeting people

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: like a lot of genres

(folk, blues, rock, alternative, singer-songwriters, ....)
Tip: Joni Sheila http://jonisheila.bandcamp.com/album/change (see my short film about her https://vimeo.com/143563954)

Books: I'm not a big reader.

Movies: Don't go so much to movies, but like short films that I screen on Vimeo :)
See also my last short film: https://vimeo.com/video/383512502 (Password = zij-lachte)

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Made a trip for nearly 7 months through SE-Asia, Australia and New-Zealand in my younger years (1987-1988) and travelled nearly 1 month through Yemen (1993).
The homebirth of my two children.

Teach, Learn, Share

Tips and tricks about photography?
Sharing travel experiences.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I just moved (oktober 2023) from Watou to Wervik. I still have to get to know and explore my new hometown. :)

- Sharing travel- and life experiences and stories during a meal.
- A bedroom and my house.
- Tips on what to visit in my region/province (e.g. Ypres, Bruges, ...).
...

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Ireland, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Macedonia, Malaysia, Malta, Montenegro, Nepal, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom, Yemen