I'm forever curious and enjoy diversity in all its forms.
Conversations, new neighbourhoods, surprise celebrations, challenging projects, new perspectives.

I embrace what comes my way, the whole gamut from serious to silly.

Making things, having a laugh while working hard, accomplishing stuff alone or in a team - I like to do and experience things fully.
As they say in stagework: "work hard, play hard."
Currently I work in a cooperative in Bristol, with timber, but at heart and by training I am a metalworker.

I've started spending several months a year in Lebanon, meeting up with my family, travelling, getting to know the many layers of the place, and helping out with NGOs and community projects. I am still finding my feet there, and already, the people I have met and keep meeting through couchsurfing have made it a really rich and enjoyable time.

I'm based in the UK, with strong links to Norway and Germany.
My background is German-Syrian, I grew up in Damascus and later in Germany. I haven't lived in Germany for almost fifteen years, but I visit my family there regularly.

At the moment I am not able to host because I live with my friend and her 5-year old son, who is really shy and doesn't enjoy new people that only stay for a short time. He's slowly coming out of his shell, but at the moment it's still a bit too early to have people stay over.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

No one should be alone on a journey!
An open door and an open mind are better than any hotel.

I've discovered couchsurfing more than twelve years ago, it's come a long way since then!
Then, for a few years I couldn't host anyone nor travel, and came back to it a couple of years ago. Over the years I've met wonderful folks through CS, had lots guests, been a guest in people's homes and had a great deal of fun allround.

Interests

I love languages. Listen to people's stories.
I like to hear the real stuff and share experiences (or opinions, or jokes, or food, or a good ol' party).
That can take so many shapes: deep all-night discussions or laughing at the hilarity of it all or just hanging out in companionable silence.

In the last two years I've been working quite a lot for humanitarian and community projects, trying to walk the talk of solidarity and people's rights, however small or big the context. I want to live and act in ways that make people matter, that create real, human spaces.

And I read, a lot. Books are my alternative to travel and conversation, because they make both possible when there's no other way.
I read like other people breathe. Fiction, non-fiction, poetry.

Metalwork is another big passion, and my profession. I love working with my hands and learning skills that are handed down through many generations of makers. I like the challenge of materials and techniques, and finding solutions to new problems. I also enjoy teaching people, and passing on what I've learned.

Another big favourite: plants! I share my house with thirty-odd plants from all corners of the globe. They are a great balance to a busy, often noisy life and just blow my mind with all their shapes and forms and colours. They also bring the outdoors to my home whenever I am not able to go for hikes and walks.

• literature
• politics
• metalworking
• hiking
• languages

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

outstaring a polar fox on Svalbard.

What I Can Share with Hosts

delicious meals (or you cook and I wash the dishes...).
an inquisitive outlook and easygoing nature.
a tendency towards laughter.
my love of diversity.
respect for your space.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Svalbard and Jan Mayen, Sweden, Switzerland

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, Germany, Norway, Syrian Arab Republic, United Kingdom