CURRENT MISSION

þetta reddast

ABOUT ME

Eastener among Westeners - amazed at the world around, fascinated by people I meet and people I hear about; ex-Catholic, ex-Protestant, ex-atheist, invariably an evolutionist; canned coffee addict, liberal, human rights defender; inspired by Fridtjof Nansen, fan of Total Commander; serious, playful, careless and boringly responsible, overly metaphysical and annoyingly down-to-earth, still unsure what to do in life

PHILOSOPHY

understanding brings forgiveness

a smooth sea never made a skilled sailor

success is how high you bounce when you hit the bottom

It is through travel that I have stared my fear in the face, revealing it for the phantom it is. Now, on the road, I am a better version of myself, less defensive, more open, more curious. The person I bring home is closer to the one I want to be, and I will be damned if I will let fear stop that. (Andrew McCarthy)

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

With every person I meet, I become more and more open minded and understanding of others; Couchsurfing teaches me that there is no need to fear the other. Also, my main feature is curiosity, and much as I enjoy reading and learning, there is no better (and fun) way of getting to know the world around me than to chat to somebody else.

Although I cannot host for the time being, feel free to ping me if you need any information about Iceland, UK, Guernsey or Poland. I am always happy to help!

Interests

Travelling, evolutionary studies, leadership, sociology, psychology; talking to people and learning about their eccentricities; journalism, especially travel writing; sailing and sports in general (winter sports in particular), dancing (bachata!), watching movies & finding inconsistencies in them, cycling, playing board games, learning to play my guitar, hitch-hiking, translating, learning anything about everything, discovering absurdly unnecessary programs that slow down my computer (Launchy, WinSplit, FolderMenu...), reading books and newspapers (Euronews, AlJareeza, The Economist, New Scientist, Gazeta Wyborcza, Polityka), listening to BBC Radio 4 (Just a Minute, news), listening to audiobooks, drawing clouds...

• writing
• books
• dancing
• bachata
• human rights
• cooking
• coffee
• news
• movies
• board games
• reading
• traveling
• drawing
• guitar
• cycling
• hiking
• sailing
• atheism
• sports
• economics
• journalism
• psychology
• science
• sociology
• hitchhiking

Music, Movies, and Books

MOVIES: The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Out of Africa, Billy Elliot, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Brokeback Mountain, Himalaya, Inception, Pride and Prejudice (1995), Bacheha-Ye aseman (Dzieci Niebios), In Pursuit of Happiness, Seven Pounds, Ghost Dog, The American Sniper, King's Speech, Drive, Empire of the Sun, Amelie, Fill the Void, Kon-Tiki, Django Unchained, Into the Woods, Maleficient, Exit Through the Gift Shop, and many, many other

BOOKS: scientific (science for dummies), travel books, fantasy (talking horses!), adventure, detective stories, anything that makes me think... Turn the Ship Around! (D.L. Marquet), The Reluctant Fundamentalist (Hamid Mohsin), Kjersti (Babbis Friis-Baastad), The Plague (A. Camus), Ferdydurke (W. Gombrowicz), What Do You Care What Other People Think (R. Feynman), Piotr Krasko, Ryszard Kapuscinski, Richard Dawkins, all of Bill Bryson and Terry Pratchett...

MUSIC:Classical (Asturias by Isaac Albeniz, Pachelbel's Canon in D, Summer & Winter by Vivaldi, The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba by Handel are my favourites by far) - also metal versions, Brian Crain, Cesaria Evora, Czeslaw Mozil, Jacek Kaczmarski, Kathryn Williams, Amon Tobin, Black Eyed Peas, Daddy Yankee, Monchy y Alexandra, Calle 13, Andy McKee, Ewan Dobson, Apocalyptica, Boudewijn De Groot, instrumental music (hang), Grails, Dalida, Al Martino, Aquarius Heaven, Renan Luce, world music....

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Jjimjilbang in South Korea
Sundlaug in Iceland
Hamam in Turkey

Teach, Learn, Share

Teach: anything I know (and don't know - I will make something up)

Learn: anything that I don't know (guitar in the first place)

Share: everything but my toothbrush

What I Can Share with Hosts

I would love to share my cooking with you, but I must admit that it is not that great. Although I made some Polish pierogi the other day and my friends did not choke, so I can risk making them once again.

I can teach you how to solve the Rubik's cube :)

I promise to be a very considerate and easy-going guest. I love talking to others, but if you need time for yourself, just tell me and I will be ok reading my book or looking outside of the window. I am a very clean person and promise not to make any mess :)

And if you need anything from the country that I am travelling from (just ask.. it is changing quite a lot), I will always be happy to bring it for you, as long as it is not overly big&heavy :)

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Armenia, Austria, Bulgaria, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Macedonia, Netherlands, Romania, Scotland, Serbia, Slovakia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine

Countries I’ve Lived In

Guernsey, Iceland, Poland, United Kingdom

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