Nathaniel Baumgardner's Photo

Verified Profile

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Wants to Meet Up

  • Last login about 5 years ago

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Overview

  • 18 references 14 Confirmed & Positive
  • Fluent in Bulgarian, English, German
  • 36, Male
  • Member since 2011
  • Social Scientist
  • MSc. Public Policy and Human Development from UNU MERIT
  • No hometown listed
  • Profile 100% complete

About Me

CURRENT MISSION

Transcend space and time. Or just space.. or time.

ABOUT ME

I studied for four years in Bulgaria and have a deep, abiding love for the Balkan region (specifically Montenegro). I have traveled much around the United States as well, working on a chainsaw crew in the Rocky Mountains, an Intern for an NGO in DC, a cook in a Mexican restaurant in Wisconsin and a Busboy in New Jersey. I also worked for three years as a writing tutor for my university in Bulgaria. After completing my undergraduate degree I worked for the University as an Admissions Counselor for 1.5 years. I then decided to return to school to get my master's at Universiteit Maastricht in the Netherlands. While finishing my thesis, I interned at the UN climate change secretariat in Bonn, Germany. After I finished my master's degree in the Netherlands I worked for Damianitza Winery in Bulgaria a farming and fermentation trainee. I transitioned to Amsterdam city life and started a non-profit organization to reduce food waste and support social welfare groups in Amsterdam. After several years managing the organization I moved back to the United States to be closer to my immediate family. I now live in Denver, CO where I work in Emergency Management. I find fulfillment in life by playing music with people, writing, expanding my mental and spiritual consciousness, cycling around big cities and rural areas, cooking for those I love, exploring wild, untouched areas of the world, fermenting things, vanquishing my fears and trying to live a minimalist lifestyle. When traveling I prefer deep cultural experiences, even if they mean getting a little dirtier.

Because I travel quite frequently for work, I can’t guarantee I will be able to host you. But the best way to get a request accepted is to show that you’ve read my extremely long winded profile and engage with me in a unique and heartfelt way. Much love.

PHILOSOPHY

Trying to find the middle path, to act with compassion and to stop judging.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

A little surfing, a little hosting. I enjoy both.

Interests

I enjoy growing and cooking my own food, specifically fermenting things, this is one of the areas I find mystical about cooking. I also love writing and creating music, boxing, biking, expending energy in creative ways and exploring the impermanent nature of consciousness.

  • writing
  • dining
  • cooking
  • traveling
  • music
  • cycling
  • surfing
  • boxing
  • teaching
  • law
  • mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

I enjoy reading pretty much any book by Hermann Hesse, Alexander Hemon, David Foster Wallace or Jonathan Franzen. For movies, I love Serbian cinema as well as most of the oeuvre of Jim Jarmusch, Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorcese and David Lynch. I like music with soul and dont like it when people tell me they listen to "everything". I enjoy reggae, punk, folk, blues, jazz and underground hip hop, as well as any combination of these. I also enjoy pure silence.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I have climbed to the peak of Mt. Shavano, a 14,000 ft. mountain near Salida CO and lived without a cellphone for several years, unfortunately not any more.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach music, share humor and learn extroversion.

What I Can Share with Hosts

A hot meal and a laugh.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Macedonia, Mexico, Montenegro, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Turkey

Countries I’ve Lived In

Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Netherlands, United States

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