CURRENT MISSION

Round the world in 7 months & find a new place to live!

ABOUT ME

Hi, I'm Tom. I'm a hobby pilot flying small propeller airplanes. I'm extroverted, enthusiastic, and quite talkative (sometimes too much:). Most of all I enjoy being in good company.

I grew up in South Tyrol in northern Italy, took my high school degree in Bournemouth, England, and studied Telematics (software and electronics engineering) in Graz, Austria. I have work experience in fund management and banking IT.

I've recently celebrated a buddhist wedding ceremony with my girlfriend Heidi. We settled in on a joint seven month trip around the world starting in november '13.

I like vegetarian food and I don't eat meat.

For the five element insiders: I'm an earth & metal type

PHILOSOPHY

The mind is like a parachute, it only works when its open!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I'm on an extended RTW trip, so Just looking to surf at the moment.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Hosted a bunch of people but haven't surfed much yet. Mostly heard interesting and funny stories from active friends.

Interests

Everything that has to do with aviation. Especially taking my friends to some nice spots by plane. Since safety has top priority I'm always eager to improve my piloting skills.

I have learned some basic shiatsu and I'm an admirer of traditional chinese medicine for its effectiveness. Obviously all stuff related to it such as the five elements and yin yang theory interests me. I've done taiji and quigong but unfortunately haven't had much success in integrating it into my daily routine.

I like about any kind of sport, especially running, hiking, biking, and swimming. Since I'm sitting in an office most of the time I regularly feel the need for some outdoor activity.

Last but not least I enjoy partying, dancing, chilling or having a few drinks with friends. This year I had to cut back on this considerably for a gastritis which by now fortunately got considerably better.

Meeting interesting new people and having a good time with them.

Discovering mystic places and exploring new cultures.

• dancing
• dining
• vegetarian
• running
• partying
• drinking
• flying
• electronics
• aviation
• outdoor activities
• cycling
• hiking
• sports
• swimming
• engineering
• medicine
• software

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: happy go lucky, hotel very welcome, get him to the greek, a beautiful mind, I generally like independent movies - especially japanese ones with english subtitles, another favorite genre are thrillers, I don't like zapping TV channels, I'd rather look for some documentaries (bush pilots, ice pilots, aircraft accidents, ...), I like the swedish sci-fi series real humans (äkta människor)

Music: mostly electronic music like drum and bass, minimal techno, deephouse, electroswing, dub, but also stuff like chillout, reggae, blues, latin and jazz. I listen music almost all day during work, but please don't ask me names since I'm merely streaming dj sets from the internet most of the time.

Books: I'm a very slow reader, thus I've concentrated on audiobooks I can listen to when doing sports. I was impressed by "a short history of nearly everything" and "Steve Jobs'" biography.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

First solo takeoff on an airplane. I survived! ... and the plane too :)

Teach, Learn, Share

Depending on the amount of time available I can offer:
- Italian swearwords: beginner/intermediate/mafia level
- Basic Shiatsu
- Python or programming in general
- Tips for the Certified Financial Analyst Level 1 Exam

I'm glad if people can share:
- insider tips for sights, party locations and interesting stuff to do around town
- everything about general aviation and flying small aircraft

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, China, Croatia, Cuba, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Italy, Mexico, Morocco, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Tunisia, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Austria, Italy, United Kingdom