Hi my name is Ruud, I am from the Netherlands, but have lived around the globe in Germany, United States, Canada and Spain. I speak five languages Spanish, Dutch, German, French and English and have basic knowledge of Italian, Portuguese and a little Russian. By trade, I am a management consultant and have worked on large multinational accounts to turn around businesses, start new ones and find funding for promising companies. I have a Masters in Business from Germany and have studied at Stanford University in California as well. I am open minded, world traveler and love to get to knwo other cultures. A nice place to stay is the icing on the cake for me. I love the mediterranean countries, because live outside and seem to be on a different clock. So Spain, Italy and Greece certainly fits that bill. Latin America, well, love it for the warmth of its people and its ancient cultures. The books I read are two fold, one is to relax, the other to learn. I read a lot, from adventure books like the ones from James Rollins to the non-fiction ones around wikileaks and Edward Snowden. The movies I like are the more suspense full, more complex foreign ones, that twist and turn and keep you on edge like Woody Allen's Match Point, set in London. TV series: there are few that keep me engrossed, but lately I fell for the French TV series: The Returned. My appetite for music is wide and goes the classics like Mahler and Rachmaninov to Sting and Sarah Brightman, depending on the mood setting. I am big Mozart fan. Food wise, I am dare devil and I do like complex tastes, especially the Asian foods like Thai and Vietnamese provide that, but I fall the local food wherever I go, because it goes with the setting I am in and is therefore special. I go for the good memories of the good times at the places I visit.

Once I rent a place, I am very easy going and independent, it helps to speak most of the local languages as well. I like getting to know the landlords and interact and understand more about where am at.

My motto: Carpe Diem; Pluck or enjoy the day! Live is short, things happen, but let the positive mind move you forward to great heights. Life is there for the taking, so you and everyone else with you can live life to the fullest. Life is beautiful.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

To find real original places beyond the common hub of profiled commercial tourist places, so you can get in touch with the locals and reaally enjoy the local atmosphere. I guess it may be the only way.

Interests

• literature
• photography
• politics
• sports
• nature
• dance
• foreign languages
• foreign cultures
• foreign films

Music, Movies, and Books

Mozart, Bach
Avatar
The discovery of heaven, Harry Mulisch
Der Zauberberg, Thomas Mann

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I flew in a plane over Colorado

Teach, Learn, Share

Teach photography and languages

What I Can Share with Hosts

My travel experiences and knowledge

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, France, Germany, Honduras, India, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Panama, Peru, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Venezuela, Virgin Islands, U.S.

Countries I’ve Lived In

Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Mexico, Netherlands, Spain, United States