LANGUAGES
(now that CS changed the whole format again and the new listing--either "fluent" or "learning"--is not very informative)

English--mother tongue

German--passively almost fluent (level C1 if you know the European standards), speaking level intermediate (B1-B2)

Czech--a few years ago was also passively fluent (level C1) and actively upper intermediate (B2), but steadily losing the language. Can still read it and watch tv documentaries in Czech, understanding most, but when I have to speak it...not so good.

Slovak--because of its similarity to Czech, my passive understanding is high (depending on the accent/dialect), but I can't really speak it.

Dutch--Can read it some, no speaking.
The only one of these I'm actively learning at the moment is German.

CURRENT MISSION

learn to 'empty my mind', find a meaning to all this, come to terms with death

ABOUT ME

----Update Sept, 2017: I've lived in Weimar, Germany, for more than six years now, and I really like it. I also know Erfurt (the historic center) pretty well, and enjoy showing people around either city.

I was in Prague for 8 and 1/2 years and it was hard to leave, but it was time, and I don't regret it.

I like to talk to new people and show them my city or help them find their way, but I'm not the outgoing type to hostel-hop and make friends two minutes after walking into a room.

I'm a non-smoker and a cat-lover. I also like dogs and most any other animal. I'm a vegetarian, but social meat-eater (if I'm a guest and it's seved in a dish, I eat it)...don't buy or prepare it myself. I jog or do some other exercise regularly and walk to destinations when possible...I guess I'd say I'm "athletic", but maybe "fit" is better, because I'm too small and skinny to play any contact sports! I like to dance, but it wasn't possible in Prague because of the extreme smokiness of every dance club. In Weimar there are few places to dance, too. :(

PHILOSOPHY

Wow...that's a big, open-ended question isn't it.
People should live first and work second, avoid mass-thought organizations (ie organized religions, mass-media, and most political movements) and think for themselves. These are two of the main reasons I left the US to live in Europe, and I've never regretted that decision.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

--update Dec 2012: I've now hosted five surfers and also met someone who contacted me through CS for a little 'tour' of Weimar. All were good experiences. And the two CS Erfurt-Weimar-Jena Xmas events were great weekends where I met lots more interesting people. I helped a bit during the organizing and served as an emergency couch both times. I've been to one of the games nights in Erfurt and hope to attend more.
--update Sept 2010: Just got started in CS...enjoyed the CzechSurf 2010 event and helped out some surfers even though I couldn't host anyone.--Not officially CS activities, but I've "hosted" people here in Prague long before I even knew such a thing as couch-surfing existed. When I say 'hosting' here, I mean meeting them via the internet and showing them around Prague when they visited. They didn't stay with me, because I didn't/don't have the room right now. In 2008 I also organized four or five tours and hiking excursions for small groups of people living in/visiting Prague (mostly foreigners, but some Czechs came, too) via Facebook and the group MeetinPrague. I really enjoyed the trips and showing people new things. Now that I've learned about it and joined, I'm looking forward to meeting other CS-ers who are interested in hiking or exploring.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Specifically through CS, I've surfed three times, and all were great. I met five friendly, helpful people who all added something special to my travels through Slovenia. And I've now started hosting in Weimar.Other experiences, you can see in the box above.

Interests

I love to hike and read and watch films in my free time. And I like to take photos, especially when I'm travelling. Putting together a photo-album (in the 'old days', an actual book with pages, now online ones) with semi-clever headings and descriptions is almost as much fun for me as the trip itself. I also love taking naps with my cat. General interests are: travel; art; animals; languages; geography; history.

I like to dance, too, but don't get a chance to do it very often.

Music, Movies, and Books

Favorite Movies: About a Boy; Aliens; Band of Brothers; The Breakfast Club; The Usual Suspects; Little Miss Sunshine; Pelisky; Kolja; many others I can't think of now...

Favorite Books: A lot of Terry Pratchett Books. The Story of B. The Time Traveller's Wife. About a Boy. Guns, Germs, and Steel. Many more

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

-Went skydiving twice and it was definitely the adrenaline highlight of my life.
-Hiked in the fresh air of the High Tatras and danced a polka with a beautiful woman at a traditional Slovak wedding.
-Went canyoning on the Soca river in Slovenia. Did all four of the jumps on the tour. Only the australian guy (twelve years younger than me) and I did the highest two jumps.
-Camped out on the steppe of Kazachstan with a bunch of other teenagers, when it was still part of the Soviet Union. (showing my age there!)
-Hitch-hiked from Weimar to Prague and got stuck in the Dresdener Tor truckstop overnight. Slept in the upper bunk of a very nice trucker's cab, who then drove the rest of the way to Liberec the next morning (while I slept) and bought me a bus ticket from Liberec to Prague.
-Organized several group day-trips from Prague to Cesky Raj or other sites and had a blast playing both organizer and guide.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can tell you a lot about primates, if you want to know. The differences between monkeys and apes, for example.
I can also explain a lot about English grammar, but I can't spell to save my life, so forget about that! If you're a native Czech/German speaker, I'd be happy to do a "language-swap", practice my Czech/German and you your English, however rigorous or informal you'd like.

--when I was in Prague--For a non-Czech, I think I know a lot about Czech history, at least the last 100 years. I like sharing this information with others, whether it's giving people a little tour of Vysehrad and telling them the myths associated with the Myslbek statues there, or showing them the crypt where the resistance fighters held out after assasinating Reinhard Heydrich.

--update Dec, 2012: I've learned/am learning a lot about both Weimar and Erfurt now, too, so now I enjoy showing people around those towns (the historical centers, anyway) as well.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Interest in any historical things you'd like to show me.
I'm quiet and definitely won't come back to your place drunk or loud.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland

Countries I’ve Lived In

Czech Republic, Germany, United States

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