ABOUT ME

Born, raised and educated in Helsinki, Finland.
Have lived in other places as well.

My best friends have occasionally described me as follows:
-an easygoing, laid-back, adjustable guy
-occasionally witty, keeps you on your toes with his comments and remarks, has always "that certain grin" on his face
-gets lots done and is reliable, someone you can count on
-doesn't gossip about his friends, yet knows a lot about them

Por qué estoy en Couchsurfing

It's a community that, according to my quite limited experience, gathers around very diverse, unique, and interesting people from very different backgrounds, socioeconomical situations, and geographical and linguistic areas. You never know who's going to take you to the next adventure in life.

Intereses

Striking up a conversation with new people, you never know who you're going to meet and what you might learn about. I try to leave people in better shape compared to what they were when I met them in the first place.

Whenever there's a chance for surfing, I'm on it (the actual wave surfing). I'm not a pro but everytime I'm in the ocean with a board I heartily enjoy every moment.

Snowboard; my way to enjoy the near perfect freedom during winter time, preferably powder snow, good company and an enjoyable landscape. Even better if you have a bunch of dear friends sharing a dinner and telling stories in the evening.

Sports in the form you name: squash, football, cross country running, kayaking, nordic skiing, climbing, pool

Photography: just because it let's you put things into perspective. Literally.

Learning: no matter what, knowledge has never got me into trouble in this life.

• photography
• concerts
• environment
• beer
• exercise
• running
• tv
• traveling
• billiards
• hiking
• kayaking
• camping
• surfing
• skiing
• snowboarding
• sports
• rock climbing
• soccer
• history
• languages
• tours
• squash

Música, películas y libros

Books:

-War and Peace - Fjodor Dostojevskij (it teaches a new way of thinking about historical / life events)
-The New Art of Travel - Alain De Botton (gets to the bottom why we travel in the first place and ponders on what we seek by doing that)
-An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth - Chris Hadfield (certainly gives some perspective, a brilliant and witty autobiography)
-The Almost Nearly Perfect People - Michael Booth (gives perspective on your own country from someone who observes you very close)

Movies:

-The Inglourious Basterds (great actors, great dialogue, great characters)
-Intouchables (a great story about friendship and having fun)
-The Perks of Being a Wallflower (absorbs you to the American High School life in a very personal way, also brings up some wider themes)
-Babel (connecting people)

Algo increíble que he hecho

I was traveling around the US for six weeks on my own and run into a man of Mexican and Puerto Rican decent on Hollywood's Walk of Fame who was selling 20$ bus tours in LA. I didn't buy a tour from him but ended up running into the same guy on the following day and the day after that. We always chatted for a few minutes and in the end decided to grab a beer one day after his work. He turned out to be selling the bus tours just for fun while his real job was a tv director and he invited me to come see a live broadcast of an Iranian concert from the Universal Studios. When you travel you never now who you run into.

Back in 2006 I was trekking in Northern Finland / Norway and after a days hike we set up a camp, cooked dinner, and went to rest in our tents. As I got out a moment later, the whole world (meaning sky, and a lake in front of my tent) had turned scarlet. It was easily the most dazzling sunset I've got to witness. I still remember it even though it's been more than 10 years.

Enseña, aprende, comparte

I'm an eager runner in the city environment so if you have a pair of running shoes with you I can show you around the city while we both get the benefit of exercising.

I know Finnish, English, Swedish, French, quite decent Spanish, and I can teach you how to say cheers in those languages as well as in Thai, Mandarin Chinese, Russian, Italian, German, and Estonian.

I used to be quite interested in history so I might be able to teach you a fact or two. I spent a year living in Alaska and I've done one month long internship in Taiwan and another one in Northern France. I've been to Sweden easily more than 50 times in my life and was also living there for a while so I now a thing or two about the aforementioned places. I also now how you can increase your odds of finding slightly cheaper flight tickets.

Sitting down and talking is one of my dearest interests so feel free to join and share some stories or insights about anything.

Qué puedo ofrecer a los anfitriones

A nice 5-15k run.

A pint and watching a game of football in a pub.

Países que he visitado

Andorra, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russian Federation, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States

Países en los que he vivido

Finland, France, Sweden, Taiwan, United States