ABOUT ME

I'm Liam, a student living in Glasgow but originally from Antwerp, Belgium. It's hard to summarise myself in a paragraph, but I'm a person who views learning with profound respect, and as teachers as some of the most incredible people. And as someone who tries to learn from everyone, I like to think of everyone as someone who I can take something from and give something to. I think travelling is a great way to learn about different peoples' attitudes as well as culture.

PHILOSOPHY

Again, years of thought and development that might change completely by tomorrow is hard to write about. But basically I see learning and reducing chaos a uniquely human task, which is both a blessing and a curse given to us, since it gives us the opportunity to suffer. But by having an open mind by not wanting answers and accepting all things as complex and inter-related, we are able to open our minds and learn to see ourselves and simultaneously the world we live in.

I am not a crazy hippy, I promise.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I have hosted people in Belgium, and my couch is open in Edinburgh. I've surfed on a people's couches, and I'm always happy to meet up with people who are just visiting Edinburgh (or Antwerp) and show them around and/or meet up for a drink.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

So far my experience has been incredible. Everyone I've met (hosts and other couchsurfers) have been interesting, and we've had good talks well into the night. I just want to keep adding to this as much as I can.

Interests

Travelling and discussing pretty much anything with people to give me a new perspective. I love language, and how they reflect the development of human culture and awareness in such a tangible way. Reading takes up a lot of my time, as well as writing in my journal and exploring music and art in all its weird forms, even if it goes above my head most of the time. I enjoy history and sightseeing, as well as hiking and swimming. And basically, if there's something new I can try, I will try it.

• culture
• writing
• photography
• cooking
• partying
• drinking
• reading
• traveling
• socializing
• music
• piano
• world music
• hiking
• swimming
• biology
• history
• sightseeing
• mountains
• playing guitar

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies - Goodbye Lenin, Amelie, The Godfather, The Green Mile, The Truman Show. As well as Spiderman, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Avengers.

Music - Radiohead, Laura Marling, The Villagers, alt-J, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, The xx, The Knife, and Jacques Brel, Fabrizio de Andre, Nicholas Jaar, Laurie Anderson, Björk, Antony and the Johnsons, etc.

Books - 1984, Brave New World, Wild Swans, any 'A Very Short Introduction to...', A Picture of Dorian Grey, Things Fall Apart, Madame Bovary, The Wasp Factory,

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

In Beijing, my couchsurfer host brought us the to foot of a mountain which had a section of the Great Wall of China on its summit. After hiking/rock climbing for 3 hours, me and 3 other surfers got to the top and walked along an empty Great Wall (the tourist section is packed with tourists, so this was a privilege).

Teach, Learn, Share

Amateur piano. Swimming (useful in a couchsurfing setting), mindfulness, Dutch, Swedish, chats about language and almost any piece of culture, photography, cooking, knitting,

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Panama, Poland, Russian Federation, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Belgium, Scotland, Sweden