Hey,

I am Michael from Germany, 24 years old. I am an open-minded and honest as well as reliable and trustful.

Currently I am still studying at the tiny University of Bayreuth, a Masters' programme called 'Global Change Ecology'. Includes a lot about climate change and other proceedings on which humanity is exerting influence on. Quite interesting. However, I have actually not been in Bayreuth for almost a year due to an internship and a semester abroad in Wageningen/Netherlands...

Before I studied 'Geoecology' which was just the same as environmental sciences. Back then, I already spent one semester abroad back then in Iceland and made great experiences. Probably the best time of my life so far without being nostalgic.

I grew up near to Stuttgart in Germany. Nice time, still have many good friends there.

As I said I am open-minded and honest. I love to have conservations with people about their every-day life, about their problems, about their successes and their joy. So I guess I am quite affable but also pretty independent as I don't have any problem to explore a city by myself and organising my own stuff ;)

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I joined couchsurfing in summer 2015 when I was searching for a host in Helsinki where I attended a summer school. However, in general I believe it's a great opportunity to be on CS and to get to know other people from all over the world.

Interests

I am quite interested in politics - especially in the international climate policy. That's also what I am studying right now and where I see my future work.

But work shouldn't be the only thing in life of course. I quite like music for example and listen to different genres in my free time. Myself, I am playing the French Horn. So far I played in different wind orchestras but I will have to see if I can continue in doing that.

In addition, I like to do some sports. I have been playing Volleyball for quite some time but got a bit tired of it. Then I moved over to Handball which was a lot of fun for me and seems to be my favourite type of sports. Sometimes, I also just go for a run or for a swim.

• festivals
• environment
• wine
• running
• politics
• music
• hiking
• sports
• handball
• ecology
• international relations
• climate change
• environmentalism

Music, Movies, and Books

My favourite band is since many year Red Hot Chili Peppers. I am quite proud that I have seen them live still with John Frusciante on the guitars when I was still quite little together with my sister and my mom :) Since I was for half a year in Iceland I love Icelandic music. They are having a real nice music scene with so many great bands and artists. unbelievable!

My favourite movies are Into the Wild, 21 Grams, Blood Diamond, Babel and Wall-E.

In my youth I never read. I don't know why but everytime I started I lost my motivation after reading 30 pages of a novel. Then I discovered non-fiction books and started to read a lot about sustainability, climate change and about politics and our society. Today, I mostly read some articles on the internet but I am also looking forward to read some books waiting in my shelf.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

First thing that comes to my mind: Going to Iceland. Wonderful landscapes, wonderful people. Something I will never forget in my life.

Teach, Learn, Share

Teach: Everything what you think is worth to know out of my little suitcase of experiences ;)

Learn: Everything I can.

Share: As much as possible. Don't waste things you don't need ;)

What I Can Share with Hosts

My parents possess some vine yards. Thus, I guess I could bring you a bottle of wine with a very personal taste ;)

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Germany, Iceland, Netherlands