CURRENT MISSION

I am going to experience the world and the people who live in it beyond the state of Minnesota that I have grown so tired of. I need to quench my thirst for adventure

ABOUT ME

I am an 20 year old male who grew up in a family with one younger sister (who I consider to be quite evil). I grew up in my home city of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, which is right outside of Minneapolis and the capital of Minnesota, St. Paul.

I have always loved the city life; it has always intrigued me how the people move, interact, and become influenced by one another. The liveliness of all the surroundings keep my brain constantly stimulated. I am always searching for things to inspire me.

As I said above, I have grown up and been educated in a very diverse environment and with all different kinds of people. I have made friends with people who are from Africa and Vietnam and many more places. I got so much cultural influence from these people as I grew up and even though I didn't go to the greatest of High Schools I feel like I was given a taste of the real world and the real people who live in it.

I now go to college at the University of Wisconsin-Stout studying for a degree in Art with a concentration in Graphic Design. I have done 4 semesters at the UW-Stout and am now doing an exchange program the the HAWK in Hildesheim for an entire year and I have been loving the whole adventure. I love Art, sketching, painting, typography, layout, grid work and so on. I can't stop looking at the world without looking for my next inspiration for a project or a simple illustration. In fact I write, draw and scribble down all the little things that are going through my head just in case something comes up that I can use for later (along with the fact that sometimes I have great ideas or thoughts and completely forget about them the next moment when I try to recall them).

As I said before I am in a "true exchange" program between the UW-Stout and the HAWK in Hildesheim, which means I am staying in someone's flat here and someone is staying in mine at home. I am using and respecting all of their stuff and am taking care of the entire flat (in fact I think I keep this flat cleaner than the actual residents). I really believe in respecting others property. I am so careful around this flat to make sure I keep everything in check, watering the plants, not breaking any dishes and the like.

I am not into doing any drugs or smoking. I am cool and respectful of the people who are but I will never do any of that. I am not a heavy drinker, just a casual beer or glass of wine with friends and at parties. After coming over here to Germany and going to one of the local clubs in Hildesheim I really discovered to loosen up a bit and now I love to dance!

I am extremely clean, in fact I can sometimes feel a little OCD. I like to have order and structure but then again I also like to be spontaneous and unpredictable. I really don't know if that makes any sense to anyone but that is the truth. I have also been told that I have a ridiculous amount of energy and act like a kid sometimes (in a good way, not a mischievous annoying sort of way).

I don't think that I could live without music. In fact I am pretty sure there is hardly a moment in my day that I am not listening to at least a piano melody in the background of whatever I am doing. I also love to drink coffee. It is the fuel to my day. But it is somewhat strange that for how much coffee I drink all day every day that I am not really reliant on the caffeine in it because there are days that I just decide that I don't want to drink it. So I feel that I am a true coffee drinker who just drinks it to enjoy the flavor.

I like to get lost and find my way back.

I do like to have a guided tour of cities that I go to but I also like to explore a lot of the places I go on my own so that I can get the true life and culture of the place. I think that a personal guide is much better than a simple guidebook considering the guidebook just gives you all the places that everybody sees but when I have a person guide I can be shown that individual's personal taste and wonder.

I would love for those of you who choose to host me to show me around to your favorite spots of the city/town/village because I feel like I can get a glimpse of what it feels like to live in that place, to really know the nooks and crannies of it all.

I know that a lot of the information that you have read about me so far probably isn't really all that important and might be a little random but that is who I am. There is much more to me and I am definitely willing to talk all about it but you better be ready for a long night over a cup of coffee. Haha!!

PHILOSOPHY

Personal philosophy... wow this is something I have never really been asked before.

I believe in something that has made my life nothing but good. No matter what the situation there is always something good that comes out of it, some aspect that makes you stronger as a person. All you have to do is look for it.

And if there is nothing that seems to seems to be good about the whole thing the you must always have hope. Hope is something that no person can live without.

As I have said before, I have been really getting into ready philosophical novels and history and I have found that there is one thing that I really agree with: there are far too many thing that every individual takes for granted. The only way that we can truly appreciate our world is to look at everything with wonder.

For example I have noticed that coming over to Germany and Europe in general that all the streets are beautifully laid out cobble stones and in the States if you see a street with cobble stones or laid brick you are probably in a very ritzy neighborhood. I mean it is so beautiful and I started to notice that I was taking it for granted and I thought about how when I go home how boring all the paved streets are going to be. I don't think that may of us appreciate how many little things add beauty and wonder in our lives.

I always thought the more I saw of the world the smaller it would become and really it has been quite the opposite. I have realized how little I know of the world and this all goes back to that idea of "wonder." My mind has become so thirsty to see more and more because I have opened my eyes to see everything in the people and surroundings that many pass by.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

As of now I am just participating as a Surfer in the CS Project but I am definitely going to be posting pictures of my adventures along with ratings on places that I surf and the people I meet along the way. I plan on keeping a blog up on here but I also have a blog of my own which I believe I have posted a link to. If not here is my blog and Flickr account that you can check out:

Blog. http://jesselindhorst.blogspot.com
Flickr. http://www.flickr.com/photos/mplsspirit/

So you can see all about my adventure abroad so far. I am also going to be opening up my place/couch at home when I head back to the States for any surfers wanting to head to Minnesota or Wisconsin.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have not had any experience surfing anywhere because I am new to this site but as I said above in my "About Me" I am in a true exchange program and I live in someone's flat here in Germany while they live in mine back in Wisconsin. I am here with the another resident in the flat and we are having a great time.

I also did a sort of unofficial couch surfing thing with someone I knew from a previous year of the exchange program between Stout and HAWK. A girl who studied at Stout through the exchange program invited me to stay at her place for the first couple weeks when I got to Germany so that she could show me around and teach me the rope of some of the German culture. She really helped me out a lot and we became really close friends through the whole experience.

Interests

I am interested in:
Danceing. great way to express yourself and use up energy.
Art. this is my life force.
Music. listen to it every minute of my day.
People. everyone has something to say, and they don't even have to speak to say it.
Cities. the speed and life of them keeps my heart pumping.
Culture. something that is everywhere but really doesn't reveal itself until you decide to look for it
Reading. literature is something that I only recently started getting back into and I love it, what a great form of inspiration.
Clothing. the simple freedom and expression of what you wear is a form of art in itself.
Philosophy. just started reading some philosophical books when I arrived in Germany and it has taken a hold on my.
Language. the way people speak is something that will always interest me.
Color. the theory of color being an expression of emotion and thought is something that has intrigued me.
Coffee. a simple (non-alcoholic) drink that always seems to bring people together for good conversation.
Cooking. I love food and preparing it is one of the joys of the whole meal (even if I am not the greatest chef in the world).
Talking. sometimes I can just go on and on with no end in site, but I know that most people really like that.
Listening. what others have to say and their thoughts and emotions without my interruption is something I truly enjoy.
Running. the best way to relieve stress and to feel good mentally and physically.
Biking. the greatest form of human transportation ever invented.
Train Riding. a place where you can see the country and the diversity of people and just lose yourself in thought.
Traveling. of course this is sort of a given when you are a member of this site :)
Dreaming. even though I don't always remember them I am somehow always able to find inspiration from them.
Observing. keeping my eye open to everything, everything that many people take for granted and finding wonder in them.
Camping. there is nothing like getting away from the hustle and bustle of the city life and escaping into the wilderness with nothing but a tent, sleeping bag and a map, along with the beauty of pure nature.

• arts
• culture
• books
• literature
• design
• graphic design
• sketching
• illustrations
• coloring
• beauty
• dancing
• environment
• dining
• cooking
• wine
• cheese
• beer
• coffee
• running
• partying
• drinking
• clubbing
• clothing
• movies
• reading
• traveling
• blogging
• painting
• drawing
• music
• piano
• cycling
• camping
• surfing
• boxing
• history
• tourism

Music, Movies, and Books

I can listen to anything musically. My personal favorite is most likely hip-hop because of it's sheer poetical structure or folk style music. I listen to rock, bluegrass, blues, jazz, classical, electronic, drum and bass, alternative, etc. And I love to stumble upon something new or to share music with another individual because it is like I am giving a small bit of who I am to that individual.

I used to play guitar a few years back but I never really seemed to find time for it. I really want to get back into it the more and more I listen to music and really appreciate every piece of work that goes into a single song.

I watch all sorts of movie, everything from the big Hollywood blockbusters to the truly underground films. I really like to watch strange movies that have characters with personalities that I have never seen before and that develop through a story. I am not so into scary movies but everything else I am cool with. Donnie Darko is without question my favorite movie of all time and if you haven't seen it I highly suggest you do.

As for books I was never a really big reader until 6 months back. I have really started to realize the importance of literature in my day to day routine. I love books that are poetic and lyrical in the writing style. I like Aldous Huxely (who is definitely not all that lyrical but still very interesting as a writer) and Albert Camus. I recently read The Stranger and it was a fantastic and strange book but for some reason I could almost relate myself to the main character. I am currently reading "Sophie's World" and it is great.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Hmmm... One thing. Well I think the most amazing thing I have done in my lifetime is dedicate a year of my life to studying in a country where I didn't know the language and didn't understand the culture, to go away from home and my family and to leave my small box of world that I was so used to and to come and experience the world that I could only read about or view in movies and pictures. I am not sure what part of my life can match up to this whole experience.

Teach, Learn, Share

I am an artist who looks past just what is concrete and real. I look at things with an open mind and imagination. I look at things with a different kind of perspective. I can teach people how looking at things with an imaginative mind can really open up a whole new world. I can teach people who keeping thoughts written down and sketching can really develop you personally.

I can also teach people who to make a mean Grill Cheese sandwich. Haha!

I want to learn about someone personally. I want to know what makes a person unique because in this world the most diverse thing is the people the way they think. I want to learn more about the different views of world. There is something about the people that I meet along this adventure that really make everything worth it. I do love the places I go but the people are who make the whole thing complete.

Countries I’ve Visited

France, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Germany, United States