CURRENT MISSION

Love, peace & harmony. In the end, enlightenment.

ABOUT ME

I'm Tom, 41, single & no children. My girlfriend/partner passed away 4 years ago.
I'm a casual & rather relaxed person. Love (dry) humour. Down to earth. Empathic. Experience of life.

My mothertongue is Dutch. I read & speak English & French. Read & understand German, some active skills (aber sehr wenig Ubung). Read & understand some basic Russian, Spanish, Portuguese. Love languages & words & literature.

Hometown: I live in a multicultural part of a small - 75.000 inhabitants - but old city in NE Belgium, near the Dutch & German border. Hasselt (official city rights since 1232 AD) is capital of province of (Belgian) Limburg, situated in Flanders, the Dutch speaking part of our politically very complicated trilingual country.

If interested: Amsterdam, Paris, London & Köln/Cologne are about 3 hours by train.

PHILOSOPHY

Independent & open minded, very curious, freethinker. Raised a Roman Catholic but have been an atheist/secular humanist for about 20 years. Interests in Buddhism & Zen.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Enthusiastic traveller for more than 30 years. My parents took me to different parts of Europe every year when I was a child; later I made trips with friends or girlfriend. Travelling preferably off the beaten track & close to local communities (no beach holidays or big hotels).
Love to meet interesting & new people from around the world. Like to share my discoveries & experiences - at home & abroad - with others.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Surfed (7) in Antwerpen (B), Utrecht (NL), Brugge & Knokke (B), Bangkok (Thailand), Oostende (B) and Kortrijk (B).
Hosted (6) Mathias from Germany, Remi & Adriane from Antwerpen (B), Michel from Kelmis (B), Eva & Tanner from Arizona (USA), Romy & Tom from Antwerpen (B) and Riet & Jan Willem from Tilburg (NL).
All very positive. Hope to contribute more soon!
Attended a few CS-meetings & hikes in Limburg.

Interests

Having a nice chat with other people.
Travelling in my own country & abroad.
Browsing (food) markets & bookstores.
Art & history. Visiting museums & exhibitions.
Reading (novels, pop culture, religion, history, mythology, science,..) listening to music, going to gigs.
Writing (occasionally).
Photography (nature & architecture, very amateurish).
Biking & walking in cities & open nature.
Yoga.
Having a drink and/or tasty meal in good company.
Crossword puzzles, kakuro & sudoku.
Watching the world go by & dolce far niente.

• arts
• culture
• writing
• literature
• architecture
• photography
• beauty
• perfumes
• dining
• yoga
• walking
• drinking
• trivia
• movies
• reading
• traveling
• puzzles
• sudoku
• music
• cycling
• hiking
• buddhist
• atheism
• track and field
• teaching
• history
• languages
• religion
• science
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

Lots & lots & lots. Cultural omnivore.
Music: Flemish polyphony, drones, Zeuhl, US hardcore, kraut, techno, minimal music, free jazz, post punk, Tropicalia, Pixies, Bad Religion, Shins, Miles Davis, Burzum, Burial etc & the weird & wonderful in general. Bit nerdy, I confess! But also extremely tolerant to other people's tastes.
Books: Scandinavian thrillers, Val McDermid, Russian classics (faves: Chekhov, Paustovski, Shalamov, Turgenev), JMA Biesheuvel, W. Elsschot, H. Murakami, JM Berckmans, M. Houellebecq, graphic novels,..
Movies: Too much to mention.
TV: Six feet under, Dexter, The Shield, Spooks, West Wing, Twin Peaks, Sopranos, Oz, Heimat, Curb your enthousiasm, Het Eiland, Forbrydelsen, Borgen, Broen,..

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Iceland. Overwhelming & humbling beauty of nature at it's purest: volcanoes, glaciers, hot springs in the middle of nowhere, fresh air, clear sky, absolute silence.

Teach, Learn, Share

Student: Above all, love to learn & hear from others. See my interests, personal philosophy, movies & music...
Teacher: Some language skills. Trivia buff (love quizzing!). Rather extensive knowledge of arcane pop music. Love to share my discoveries with others.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Brazil, Cambodia, Colombia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Mongolia, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russian Federation, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State, Venezuela, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Belgium

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