CURRENT MISSION

Being a good ex-pat, husband and Dad ; )

ABOUT ME

A few years ago I moved to Munich from Spain where I had been working for a company called [i]Diverbo [/i], organising volunteers for special English villages. It was a great experience, meeting volunteers from all around the world and hearing their fantastic reports of the rewarding volunteer vacancies they took up at our 1-week English "camps" (actually 4* hotel resorts). Since then I have set up the same project in Germany and it has already caught the attention of several German newspapers. Although it is essentially about creating English "villages" where Germans can improve their English (predominantly business people who need English at work), the programme - [i]Englischhausen [/i]- represents a fantastic opportunity to converse with diverse people from Germany and all around the globe. It is a very fun and rewarding experience, one that often people describe as a highlight of their year and sometimes even of their lives!

Because I set [i]Englischhausen [/i]up in partnership with [i]Diverbo [/i](which has been running similar programs in Spain since 2001), we have over 40,000 volunteers on our books and so have not exactly been short of volunteers. We do however have quite a few programs coming up in the next six months - at four different sites around Germany - and occasionally have last minute vacancies. If you enjoy conversation, like meeting people and have some flexibility in your schedule, then perhaps check out www.englischhausen.com and see if you might be interested. It would be great to develop some contacts from the expat. community, particularly positive/energetic/fun/outgoing people who may be interested in a volunteer placement OR working on our programs in one of two paid roles (contact me if you want further information).

I was once at a travel fair in London promoting this program to potential volunteers. My line was "hello sir/madam - how do you fancy a free holiday in exchange for your conversation?" When I expanded on it some people were completely outraged by the idea of "talking to strangers" while on holiday; others were so stunned by the offer, that they looked completely flummoxed and assumed it must be some kind of a scam! Well it isn't. But never was it clearer to me that this is definitely not something for everyone. That said, for the people who it [i]does [/i]fit, it is often something extraordinary!

Thanks for reading and I hope to hear from anyone who might be interested ; )

Luke Nightingale
Expat resident of Munich, and Director of [i]Englischhausen[/i]

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Well, for chatty, friendly native English-speakers who enjoy meeting people and good coversation, I hope I can offer you a free and fantastic week in Germany volunteering at one of our programs. You offer your natural English and in return get a week of full board fun in a beautiful part of Germany!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Our sister program in Spain once featured alongside Couch Surfing on Good Morning America. Shame the guy they sent was such an idiot!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-5Q8WCxQJU

Interests

Travel, culture, music, conversation, learning by doing, society, politics, economics

• culture
• books
• running
• politics
• reading
• traveling
• socializing
• music
• surfing
• business
• economics
• volunteering
• lakes

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

The salt lakes and panoramas of Salar de Uyuni - Atacama jeep trip - wow what landscape and what an experience!
Seeing a leopard hunt in the Serengeti, Tanzania. Lucky enough to see a leopard but to see one hunt - incredible!