CURRENT MISSION

life and, I suppose, eventually death :)

ABOUT ME

I am 23 years old, a student of the history of science and intellectual history.

PHILOSOPHY

When anything, any notion, becomes commonplace, I try to figure out how it came to be, under which specific circumstances in order to make it out of place or weird again. I find that this makes life and the world more complex, beautiful and full of surprises.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I have hosted a couple of times and surfed several places in Berlin for a week. All have been amazing experiences.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

see above. I really think hosting puts your life in perspective, and gives colour to the everyday life. Surfing is a great way to experience a foreign city and meet interesting people.

Interests

Literature, philosophy. Misconceptions. Music, theatre, the arts. History (especially cultural history & history of science). Wine. Dancing. Bicycling (fast), walking, treeclimbing. Listening. Speaking (not so much talking).

• arts
• literature
• dancing
• wine
• red wine
• walking
• trivia
• music
• surfing
• history
• science

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies have never talked to me the way music and books do.

My musical taste has changed a lot over the years, although I still listen to all sorts of good music. From Chuck Berry, jerry lee Lewis etc. over Hendrix and Led Zeppelin to Dizzy Gillespie/Charlie Parker to modern jazz. I like experimental music, world music and blues as well. I believe the key element in music is spontaneity, not only in improvisation; also in composed music. I recently discovered the band Snarky Puppy, to which I have been listening almost constantly for the last month or so.

I play the spanish guitar and classical clarinet myself, and throughout my life I have been listening a lot to classical music besides my very different taste in rythmic music. I prefer Bach at all times, but modern composers such as Shostakovich and Mahler also speak a lot to me.

Speaking of literature, I seem to have a taste for classic writers (Mann, Goethe, Zola, Flaubert, Baudelaire, Proust, Rabelais), and my angle on literature is rather historical as I like to recognise themes and expressions that have flourished through history and try and figure out how literature and culture intertwine. If I have to mention some contemporary writers I have enjoyed, I'll say Bukowski, Kerouac, Murakami, Rushdie.

In connection with my studies I also read a lot of philosophical works (Augustine, Hegel, Husserl, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Leibniz, Derrida, Benjamin, Foucault, Agamben etc.), and (most of) these I read with great interest, and I am always ready to discuss literature, music and philosophy.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I spent the night in a roundabout just outside of Limoges, France. The people driving by were all smiling, honking their horns and waving at me in appreciation. It was truly amazing lying there in the warmth of encouragement from fellow humans.

Teach, Learn, Share

I would like to learn every skill I have the opportunity to be taught. I can teach you how to understand complex philosophy given we have enough time. I can teach you how to stop caring (with the aid of red wine), how to appreciate nature (I hope), taking hour-long walks and bicycling really fast. How to build your own bicycle and how to go head-first into projects you can't quite overlook. My studies have also provided me with all sorts of basically meaningless trivia, some of which I will be happy to share.

Countries I’ve Visited

France, Sweden

Countries I’ve Lived In

Denmark