I'm quite an unorthodox person, but (deep-down) we all are. I'm laid-back and not much of a planner, I gratefully accept whatever comes my way in life (however maybe not always that graceful). I can be slightly impulsive from time to times. Life is about joking around, I can't take it too seriously, but at the same time I don't like to be shallow and superficial about it. In my "humble" opinion life should be lived intensely.

I love getting older. It takes the rough edges out of one's personality. I've gotten to know myself better and I'm better able to take distance from myself every now and then (and maybe even ridicule myself a little just for fun).

I'm very open and very hospitable, enthusiastic, go far for others. That's why on the other hand I can sometimes have an absolute and immediate need to switch off, shut out the world and recharge.

People can take me up on my word. I don't say stuff to please people and I don't usually say things I don't mean to say. I've learnt however to make small exceptions for people that don't deal very well with bluntness, honesty and direct communication. I can't impose my way of being onto other people and I don't like shocking/offending just for the kick of it.

PHILOSOPHY

Don't hide yourself behind big sunglasses.

We're not here in this life to experience nirvana , eternal bliss or harmony. That's not what we wanted, otherwise we would have stayed where we come from, we wouldn't have left "home".
We came here to play, to feel, to experience, to learn, to taste, to live; not just the "good" comfortable and positive, but all colours of the spectrum. So let's embrace the duality of this life.

Cut the crap.

Love yourself.
The only real altruism is a natural byproduct of heart-felt egoism. Otherwise, altruism is just disguised ego boosting-egoism of the poisonous kind.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I contribute and share, whether it is my 'couch', or my views, thoughts, feelings, jokes, or my (politically incorrect) visions on life while surfing or hosting...
Besides the obvious, I've used this website for like a million other purposes already. Although getting picked-up by sleazy guys with "topless by the swimming-pool" profile pics isn't one of them, so don't bother if that's you.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I've lived in Palestine, which was one enormous couch surfing experience all together: Absolute strangers completely open up their house for you and receive you with the utmost hospitality, just like that, no questions asked. That is one of the reasons I joined Couch Surfing, to be able to bring a similar kind of hospitality to Europe. Unfortunately I believe that in Europe we are often way too scared of strangers and a website/system is needed to give people some reassurance. The big plus, however, is that this website allows you to select people you might have a great click with.

Interests

Curious about other people's stories, curious in general. Impulsive, in the moment decisions to follow what feels good.
Simple life. Simple life in the country side.
Dreams and other subconscious communication. Hiking, even though I don't go as often as I'd like.
Languages and the links between various languages.
Conflicts and Human Rights. Human beings and what motivates us to make certain choices. History.
Living beyond norms, regulations, expectations, boundaries, conventions, figuring out what works for me. Sleeping in. Bike rides. Dancing (shake that body). Cooking; I'm very much into spices.
Reading (even though it's more like a basic need than an interest, I mean I'm interested in the world so yes I read).
Astrology (the real indepth study of astrology, the one with calculations based on exact birth times. Not the oversimplistic, generalizing, non-sensical, superstitious, bull-shitting starsign astrology).
Nature, sea/ocean and quiet beaches. Knitting, embroidery and other handcrafts.
Good conversations (quite lame to say; don't we all?)

Music, Movies, and Books

La Vita e bella, Life of Brian, the shows of comedian Eddy Izzard and George Carlin and Bill Burr, Casablanca, Hasta la Vista, Gone with the Wind, Turks Fruit, Wuthering Heights (2011), La meglio gioventù. What we do in the shadows. Hypernormalization. Five broken cameras. I like series like Community and New Girl.

Louis Ferdinand Céline - Voyage au bout de la nuit. Edgar Allan Poe. Herman Hesse. Gerrit Achterberg. Solzhenitsyn - Cancer Ward. The diaries of Etty Hillesum. The lost language of plants - Stephen Buhner.

Music - Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles, B.B. King, Al Green, Bob Marley, Nina Simone, Marcel Khaleife, Umm Kulthoum, Sabah Fakhri, Keb Mo, Leelah James, Erykah Badu, Paolo Nutini, Aram Khachaturian, Xavier Rudd, Miriam Makeba, Fabrizio de André, Victor Démé, Fatoumata Diawara, Johnny Cash, El Pulchero de Hortelano, Lhasa de Sela, Frederique Spigt, George Brassens, Goran Bregovic, Camarón de la Isla, Otis Redding, Kiko Veneno, Paolo Conte, Yasmin Levy, Paul Simon, Kari Bremnes, Janis Joplin, Calle 13, Karen Dalton, Dinah Washington, CCR, Alela Diane, Pokey LaFarge, Rokia Traoré, the Beach Boys, Chico Trujillo, Harry Belafonte, J.J. Cale, Mashrou' Leila, Nat King Cole, Rino Gaetano. Silvio Rodriguez and Sixto Rodriguez.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Hitch-hike tour of southern Europe by myself (7500 km)... challenging myself, my beliefs & fears, surrendering to the road, and whatever it throws at me. Next to that an excellent exercise of dealing with weird people.

Lucid dreams. It hasn't happened all too often, but it's a fantastic feeling.

Teach, Learn, Share

Willing to teach, learn and share, period. Couch surfing is a sort of automatic learning process anyway. I can share what I know and I'd love to learn what you know.

Would love to have a conversation/learn from a theoretical physicist. So if you're a theoretical physicist, please write a request :)

What I Can Share with Hosts

We can cook for you; all kinds of strange foods. Dutch food, Indonesian, Palestinian to name a few. Contrary to what you might think Dutch food can be delicious.
For the rest, we share our hospitality and I can share the languages I know.

Countries I’ve Visited

Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Morocco, Palestine, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Italy, Netherlands, Palestine, Spain, United States

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