Dear Couchsurfers,
my name is Mathis (or Ян/Jan as they call me in Russia/Bolivia) and I study in the beautiful Bavarian city of Würzburg. I am an enthusiastic AFS volunteer (an international exchange organisation) who likes to get to know new people from different countries. As an exchange student I have been to Cheboksary, Russia in 2013/14 (так что можете говорить со мной тоже по-русски). Three years later I did a volunteering year in El Alto, Bolivia (por eso también hablo castellano) where I also used to travel a lot on my own.
Some years ago I started to sing in a choir which I liked at once. Now I sing in three semi-professional choirs in Germany which I enjoy a lot :)

If you have some questions, need a couch or somebody to hang out with, don't hesitate to contact me via Telegram: @jan_mathis

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I had already heard about the concept of Couchsurfing during my voluntary social year in Bolivia. At first I was a bit sceptical, as I found it hard to imagine what it would be like to stay overnight with people I had never met before. It took a few more years until I Couchsurfed for the first time in the summer of 2019 on a seven-week trip through Russia, Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus. I was immediately hooked, as I met wonderful people I would never have met otherwise. I am still in contact with some of them. All the people who have stayed with me so far have also been an incredible enrichment for me.

Interests

This is a really difficult question to answer, because I get excited about all kinds of things very quickly. Since I like to make music myself (singing, playing the violin and, since last year, the balalaika), I'm always up for music. I'm also very interested in politics, history and, more recently, philosophy. These topics have become much more relevant to me, especially since the Corona pandemic. Are the "Western democracies" becoming authoritarian states as a result of the Corona measures? What value do fundamental human rights still have today? How much is a state allowed to interfere with the privacy of its citizens? These are all questions that I can discuss at length. Since I study medicine, health issues are also very close to my heart. In my opinion, nutrition and exercise in particular are topics that receive far too little attention in Germany. And if they are, then only from the perspective of the food industry. Spirituality also plays a big role in my life, which is why I also like to talk about religions and with other people of faith (also of other religions). If I think about it a bit longer, I'm sure I can think of a lot more things that interest me. But it should be enough for a first impression.

• classical music
• blues
• cycling
• swimming
• medicine
• learning languages
• theatre
• russia
• eastern europe
• afs
• choir singing
• taizé
• exchange student
• villigst

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: Keb Mo, Eric Clapton, Ola Gjeilo, Mendelssohn, Bach (yeah, I do like classical music) and songs from Taizé

Books: Harry Potter, books by Remarque (German novelist who wrote a lot about the horrors of war), stuff about politics and science

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

In July 2019 I stayed for one week in Taizé (christian community in France). It was quite a spontaneous trip there after I passed my last exams that semester. Every week thousands of young people from all over the world come to this small French village in order to talk about God, sing together or just to meditate and relax. I was deeply impressed by the openness and hospitality of the brothers and visitors from all over the world. Even though I arrived there not knowing anybody it was very easy to make friends with many young people. This Taizé spirit as I call it is really unique and it definitely won't be the last time I go there. During the week I had many inspiring and deep talks with so many people that I can even profit when I'm back at university.

Teach, Learn, Share

Since my student exchange in Russia, I have been a big fan of this country and its people. So if you've always wanted to learn Russian (or at least decipher the cryptic letters), I'll be happy to teach you. I can also give you travel tips for the post-Soviet countries. Of course, I can also teach you a bit of German and Spanish. Apart from that, I deal a lot with medical topics, especially with so-called "unexplainable diseases", cancer, neurodegenerative and autoimmune diseases. Orthodox medicine often fails miserably here and can at most alleviate the symptoms a little. Through my numerous internships and job shadowing, I have already met many excellent doctors who think for themselves and also successfully apply alternative methods. If you are interested, I would be happy to help you here as well.

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Qatar, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, Uruguay

Countries I’ve Lived In

Bolivia, Germany, Russian Federation, Turkey