CURRENT MISSION

Spread the joy

ABOUT ME

Hey everyone, I'm Michael, 30 years old, working for Ghent university as a PhD student. To put it very broadly, my project is about breast cancer, but feel free to ask me for more details if you are up for scientific discussions. When I'm not at work, I'm not too serious and I like to have fun whenever I can. Very spontaneous and not one to judge, at least not if we haven't met yet :P I always have a couch to crash on and a warm welcome waiting for you. If you like a night of relaxation after a long trip, I have a Playstation 3 and 4 here for some gaming or watching a movie. If you are more interested in exploring the city however, I'll show you all the cool buildings, parks and bars Ghent has to offer. I'm originally from the Netherlands, but Belgium kinda got a hold of me after having been there to study/work. I speak Dutch as my mother tongue and my English is also pretty decent.

After studying abroad for some time and being in tiny student dorms again (I studied at Tohoku university in Japan for a year), I'm ready to get back into the couchsurfing action to meet some more cool people now that I have settled down in Ghent once more and I have some space to host guests again. I'm also really missing the atmosphere from my international student house in Japan and couchsurfing seemed like a good way to keep my traveling spirit alive while I'm doing my research in the mean time.

PHILOSOPHY

Be all you can be and then just put in that little bit of extra effort to be truly special.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

After work (09.00 - 17.00) and during the weekends I'll give it my all to make your stay as comfy as possible and I'll do my best to promote my wonderful city along the way. I'm also more than happy to introduce you to my awesome, equally open minded friends, so I can assure you, you will feel right at home here :)

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Anywhere from ending up with a Polish and a Taiwanese roommate for half a year, to hosting a badass Israeli rock band. I'm open to all kinds of new experiences, so if you have stories to tell and skills, or cultural things to share you are always welcome. And well, if you don't have stories to tell yet, I guess we will just have to make a few together, here in Ghent :)

Interests

I like hiking, camping and sports (really almost everything, feel free to challenge me if you like). Generally, I'm a fan of martial arts (I did aikido, shinkendo and karate) and anything outdoorsy, like mountainbiking, kayaking and wall climbing (only indoor so far). Besides the sporty stuff I also like to relax and have a beer with my friends, at home or in the pub, whenever I can find the time. As such, I know most of the nice places to go for a night out in Ghent. I also like spontaneous actions, surprises and I take life the way it comes, trying to make the best out of everything on my path, not being afraid to sometimes make a fool out of myself for the enjoyment of others :p

Beside the usual hobbies, I really would consider meeting international people and learning about other cultures as an interest that I actively pursue and for which couchsurfing is obviously a great platform. I collect trinkets from all over the world, so small souvenirs or coins from your country are always much appreciated for further decorating my couchsurf room :)

Finally, I also really like my job as a researcher and the opportunity it gives me to help other people. I'm always up for scientific/serious discussions and I'm quite sure that everyone can teach me new things based on their own perspective. Now this may come as a bit of a surprise, but beside being really social and outgoing, I'm also proud to say that I can be really geeky at the same time (playstation, dungeons and dragons, poetry (comedy rap as a specialty), clever puns and so on) so feel free to geek out with me as well if that is your thing :P

If you are still reading at this point and you are still curious about me, feel free to just ask me any of your remaining questions :)

• culture
• hiking
• sports
• martial arts
• rock climbing
• anatomy
• science
• nature
• beers

Music, Movies, and Books

Action movies, British comedy, parodies, I like writing my own songs (mostly comedy rap) and I like writing parodies on existing songs as well.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I used to be a stand up comedian when I was living in Japan. I did an awesome couchsurf roadtrip through 5 countries and I hiked the west highland way in Schotland. Ooh and I was recently able to host surfers from 5 different continents at once on a single evening, which made for a really awesome night of cultural exchange with so many different perspectives, thanks for that couchsurfing :D

Teach, Learn, Share

I'm up for learning whatever you have to teach and in return I have quite a few travel stories and scientific fun facts up my sleeve that are sure to amuse you.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United States, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

Belgium, Japan, Netherlands