CURRENT MISSION

Unleash my imagination and explore

ABOUT ME

Like to explore all that life is interacting with people and places, through a broad diversity of experience. That can be through walking, talking, watching a movie, playing squash, cooking or going out (prefer quieter places though once in a while a real disco place can be fun).

The short story of my life: raised in Norway in a French-Peruvian-Iranian patchwork family. In 2010 signed up for Couchsurfing and had the time of my life surfing while backpacking in Latin America. Got stopped by love and a brief coma stint after a car crash (all is well now!). Studied computer science and Arabic language while based in Tunisia, dropped out to create a “make websites and apps” business. Four years later I took my best friend’s advice in a beer garden in Berlin and moved there. By now, 10 years later, I’ve learned German, had some beers, married my amazing Tajik wife (in three different ways three so far, soon once more, ask me for the story), taught coding to dozens of students and my niece as a volunteer, made many new friends, and a true home. Come visit!

My wife Sitora and I are currently backpacking Latin America (no car crash, so far) and want to learn more about the cultures, countries, and peoples we cross by having long conversations and sharing stories with strangers, who simply are friends who you haven’t met yet :)

Oh, and I’m traveling with an oud, the Arabic grandfather of the guitar. I just know two songs so far, which I would be happy to play for you. 🎸

Some quotes that are important for me and tell something about me as a person...

"Make it thy business to know thyself, which is the most difficult lesson in the world" (one of my tasks)
- Cervantes
"Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever."
- Gandhi

PHILOSOPHY

Carpe diem; be good to others by being good towards myself. And be good towards myself by being good towards others. Yin/yang and balance in life. I am attracted towards Taoism.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Sharing what I know, my knowledge, my many stories, cooking, what I know about Norway (home) and the world (other home).

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

CouchSurfing a lot in Mexico and a little bit in Cuba. Also surfed in Norway, Stockholm and Seoul. Excellent experiences! In Tunis an outstanding Couchsurfer community! I've met so many kind and interesting people and made new friends, some for life.I lived at a small school in a dormitory and had excellent times sharing my very small room with some visiting Couchsurfers.

Interests

All conversations with something to learn.
Philosophy.
Travel, culture, language and encounters.
Photography (very new to this, but eager to learn!)
Parties and fun!
Food, gastronomy! Yummy yummy in my tummy! And good beer!
Podcasts (oh what I have learnt from countless BBC programmes)
Amnesty International activism (human rights and stuff).
Computer programming and games!
Walking and just doing stuff (I was once as a small child referred to as having ants in by buttocks...)

• birds
• culture
• books
• singing
• photography
• human rights
• dining
• cooking
• recipes
• beer
• walking
• partying
• traveling
• podcasts
• racquetball
• business
• chemistry
• computer science
• science
• squash

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: Star Wars. I Confess (Alfred Hitchcock). Lots of others.
Music: Regina Spektor. Radiohead. U2. The New Pornographers. Røyksopp. Marcel Khalife. Omar Bashir. Recently I have falled in love with the Oud guitar, a fascinating instrument, which I listen to all the time.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Jeez, that's a difficult one.. but well, a quite good one springing to mind:
Revising material in the school library before my last exam (Chemistry I think it was), and realizing with a sudden clarity of mind that I was surrounded by tomes of books containing vast amounts of knowledge. And the inexorable feeling of joy at the notion that standing before all this knowledge, I had a humble chance to pursue knowledge in my life.

Teach, Learn, Share

Hmmm... I'd really like to share but especially learn about philosophy as that's what I intend to study, primarily. I know some cool Judo tricks, just ask and I'll show you. People seem to adore hearing the weird language that Norwegian is (at least in Latin America, so far removed from that small country), fittingly commented by a friend as "melodious - like you're singing). 72% of birds are promiscuous.
I'd really like to learn Arabic and hear the life stories and experiences of people I meet.
And if you would like to show me some local recipes (and by all means, I want to help in the cooking itself and getting the ingredients) I'll be totally thrilled. My tastebuds even more so.

Countries I’ve Visited

Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cuba, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Mexico, Montenegro, Nicaragua, Peru, Poland, Serbia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, Uganda, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Germany, Mexico, Norway, Tunisia

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