I'm only half complete without my girlfriend Linh;

As for me, I'm European by descent.. in Asia by choice, always busy working on something, learning songs, get some creative projects started, meet people, play music, study, searching for opportunities, etc.

Settled in beautiful ZhiXue, Hualien, Taiwan studying for a PhD degree in Environmental Science, focusing on edible insects. Will be here for the foreseeable future.

Our house has 4 rooms, one living/guest room, 2 bed rooms, and one bed/guest room. In addition, we have a back yard living room, a kitchen, a regular bathroom, and an outside bathroom, plus a yoga terrace on the kitchen roof. Sounds big? Well, it's not; just compact. In the summer we have a make-shift swimming pool; in the winter a fire place. We grow stuff like edible plants and herbs and we use a compost toilet system. We share the house with our dog Gai Yin and cat, Panther.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Joined couchsurfing in 2013 because it seemed like an awesome idea. A friend had introduced me to it.

In Hong Kong I got to know the CS community for the first time at the regular meet-ups in Kowloon. They really made my feel at home and I met many lovely people there.

Two times I could offer a couch to guys who were looking for a host at the meetings.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Well, I've surfed peoples couches and people have surfed my couches before I joined CS. Through CS I hosted twice (not through the website, but from the CS meet-up) in Hong Kong. Earlier in 2014 I did a little round trip of Taiwan and this my first CS experience as a surfer, surfing lovely people's couches in Dongli, Taitung, Tainan, Kaohsiung and Taichung.

I've heard some amazing stories from the CSers I met, some good and some bad ones. My experiences have all been positive.

In the house that I've been building for the last 3 years, Home 2, we have had many guests staying and housemates. Except a few, most were just friends of friends, not from couch surfing.

Interests

... things like traveling, gardening, cooking, music, arts, culture, stories, books, movies, flea-markets, stock markets, politics, religions and philosophies, countries, histories, DIY, exercise, quantum physics, tea, web-design, memes, the internet, writing, poetry, languages, yoga, yogurt, kombucha, bicycles, skateboards, snowboards, drums and Jazz and more...

• arts
• culture
• writing
• books
• poetry
• design
• diy
• cooking
• exercise
• yoga
• gardening
• politics
• movies
• traveling
• socializing
• music
• jazz
• drums
• surfing
• ecology
• languages
• physics
• religion

Music, Movies, and Books

I like reading, but only seem to get around to reading nonacademic stuff when I'm traveling or on holiday. Recent reads: The Omnivores Dilemma, Wild Fermentation, Biocentrism, Insect Diets, The Infested Mind, A Systems View of Life. On my reading list: Out of Control by Kevin Kelly, Memory of Fire by Edouardo Galleano, The Three Body Problem, 1492, etc.

movies... need to watch Star Wars at least once every couple of years...

music... is an endless discovery of ever new possibilities, recent discoveries: The Staves, Khruangbin, Tommy Guerrero, Mari Boine...

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I met two of my heroes, Vandana Shiva and Fritjof Capra and spent a few days with them during a workshop on ecology they hosted at the Navdanya, Bijavijapeeth centre in Dhera Dun, India.

Teach, Learn, Share

It's always useful to take a hook or two and some rope and wire when traveling.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Music, stories, ideas, useful skills, food, conversations and more.

Countries I’ve Visited

France, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Laos, Macao, Malaysia, Morocco, Nepal, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand

Countries I’ve Lived In

China, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Taiwan, United Kingdom