I'm Lars and 23 years old, Student from Germany, studying currently Islamic Studies in Bamberg. I was born in northern Germany: Wilhelmshaven. There I worked for some years in our local football club in different positions. I moved 2015 to Bamberg for my studies, so I am not working anymore for this club but I am still member of it :) When I am in my hometown I am working in a local radio station like a supervisor for the moderators.

Since the beginning of my studies I am very interested in Interreligous Dialogue and Politics in Middle East, especially in the Gulf Region.
2017 I travelled due to a language course my first time to Oman and I fell totally in love with it, so I am focussing now on the Sultanate of Oman and its role as a peacemaker and moderator between all these conflicts in its neighboorhood. And also the nature and countryside there is amazing!

I am also enjoying to explore other cultures and regions all over the world.
Have been to Guatemala and want to return and see more of Latin America. I travelled also to Zanzibar, where I saw the most beautiful beaches and had great experiences - my firsts in an Islamic country! I worked there as
a volunteer in a football project.

I love Europe! So I feel more European than German, but at least I am like a small local patriot for my hometown Wilhelmshaven :D Europe is great and i travelled to different regions in Europe, so I saw many countries in Europe.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I like to get in contact with new people from different places. I am sure that couchsurfing is a great opportunity for it!

Interests

I am not a very religious person but i think its something important and very interesting. Everytime I am visting mosques or churches i feel excited and I respect religions and religious people very much.

Interreligious and intercultural dialogue
My minor is Political Sciences, so im very interested in Politics and policy-making. My focus is now on the foreign policy and International Relations, especially in the Gulf region. I am member of the German-Omani-Association. Oman feels like a second home!

If i am not reading or studying on topic like this, really enjoy having long bike trips.

As you can see I travelled a lot to different regions in the world. So one of my favourite thing in my breaks is to get in contact with new cultures!

I am studying different languages for my studies like Arabic, where i reached alhamdulillah a relatively good level... I know a bit of Indonesian Language and Farsi, forgot most of my Spanish and French! I will start with Turkish and Urdu in autumn.

• culture
• beer
• politics
• international relations
• religion
• travelling
• nature
• football
• church
• arabic
• mosque
• islam
• shisha
• oman
• gulf

Music, Movies, and Books

It depends on. Sometimes I really enjoy classical music, sometimes I am listening to HipHop.
Michael Jackson and the Beatles are great! Also some Arabic music is nice like from Humood. But all in all I like to listen to every kind of music which is played by an organ. I think its overwhelming!

I am not enjoying watching movies to much. Sometimes its okay, but usually its not my favourite thing to do in my freetime.

Books... yes but with relation to politics and biographies, history or religion. I only read this kind of books!

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

My first night in an hammock in Guatemala was great! After it I helped small baby turtles on their way in the Pacific Ocean and it was amazing.

Travelling with Interrail in Europe was nice, because I saw many different countries and met nice people. Favourite experience is the beauty, the peace of Oman. The desert is aweseome!
And as I was able the first time to talk long time in Arabic with my taxi driver. I felt proud!

One night I was in front of the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in Muscat and I took some pictures and in this minutes the crescent appeared over the minaret.

Last year i visited Tchernobyl. It was an exciting experience but in the same time I felt very sad and horrified.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach you some basics of German or Arabic.

I know a lot about the Islamic World and the history of the Gulf and especially Gulf in the current time. Oman's history is on of my favourite topics!

Moreover I can tell you about Germany, its policies and society right now and especially German history since 1949 or whatever I know and you want to ask me about :)

I also like to talk much about travelling and interesting stories about it!

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Egypt, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Morocco, Netherlands, Oman, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Spain, Tanzania, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates

Countries I’ve Lived In

Germany, Oman