CURRENT MISSION

Driving a motorbike from Portugal to Guinea-Bissau from the 16th Jan to the 10th of Feb 2015. Will be living in Bissau for two years working with the Bandim Health Project and the Research Center for Vitamins and Vaccines.

ABOUT ME

Iin 2011, I did the camino in Spain with my father, an amazing experience. After that I moved to Japan to live for four months and had many good interactions with CouchSurfers and locals living in the city of Isehara outside of Tokyo for a semester of medical studies at Tokai University.

I love languages, Brazil, volleyball, cooking, wines and adventurous activities in general. In South America, I have climbed a 6088 meter mountain (Huayna Potosi), traveled to Galapagos with the Ecuadorian Air Force, sailed back with a cargo ship and met the best people.

In Japan, I have met many great people and encountered an unpreceded degree of hospitality amongst the local. Besides that, I have had great trips to mount Fuji and hitchhiking to Kyoto (again being impressed by the great hospitality and kindness of the Japanese)

In december 2011, I moved back to Denmark for exams and after that, in february 2012, I moved to Guinea-Bissau for one year working at the Bandim Health Project (www.bandim.org) as a research year student. I wrote my master thesis in conjunction with this project, about the health benefits (non-specific effects) of the BCG tuberculosis vaccine and now I am returning for more studies on the effects of different BCG vaccines in third world countries.

PHILOSOPHY

You live life forwardly, but understand it backwards. (S. Kierkegaard)

I am a guy that throws alot of jokes if im in the mood. I do have a feeling for situations though, but don't get offended if you are not used to this.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

CS has been the primary motor for me in learning spanish which I will never forget. I have met amazing people and CS played a big part in making my trip around South America in 2009 as good as it was. I CouchSurfed around all of SA leading to amazing experiences, but I have also been robbed and violated by a CS'er! I believe that it is important to emphasize that one should always meet up with his host/surfer at a café a 4 PM or something, have a talk and a cup of coffee before you go to the CS location.

In Denmark, I have had a couple of people in my small dorm room, but it has generally been complicated for me because I have been very busy studying and I have very little space. So I will probably be having more people as a host when I move to an apartment, since I wish to give back to the community.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

My experience started when a fellow aussie traveler invited me to a CouchSurfing party in Buenos Aires.

Since then it took off and CS in many ways formed the rest of my trip in '09.

Interests

Languages, volleyball, social networking, medicine, nutrition, travelling.

• culture
• writing
• books
• dining
• cooking
• wine
• coffee
• partying
• gardening
• politics
• traveling
• painting
• rock climbing
• volleyball
• languages
• medicine
• sign language
• hitchhiking

Music, Movies, and Books

City of God
Tropa de Elite
Crash
One flew over the cuckoos nest
The Godfather Series (including the third)
Clint Eastwood Italian westerns (Great!)

The Knife (Swedish electronica band), Brazilian samba from Bahia (Novos Baianos, por exemplo)

Books:
Paulo Coelho: Ser Como o Rio que Flui
Otavio Latorres: La Maldición de la Tortuga
Morten Ramsland: Hundehoved
Joe Simpson: Touching the Void
Timothy Ferriss: The 4 Hour Work Week and The 4 Hour Body
Rolf Potts: Vagabonding and Marco Polo didn't go there

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Two weeks at Galapagos, arriving with the Ecuadorian Air Force (in a Hercules plane) and going back with a cargo ship that happened to be Danish, helping with the translation of the ships manual for the motor to spanish and painting the ship, after just two months in Spanish speaking territory.

Climbing Huayna Potosi (6088 mts) in Bolivia

Learning two languages in one year.

Climbing Mt. Fuji and seeing the most spectacular sunrise, ever!

Teach, Learn, Share

Teach: Portuguese, Brazilian culture, vagabonding all over the world, medicine!

About travelling:
I have read quite a few books about travelling and made my own experiences in quite a few places now. Here are some comments about travelling:
When you go to another country, you are a guest in this country. As so, you will always be treated very nicely with hospitality, friendliness and helpfullness. Use this, but please dont abuse it.

The culture and the language will be different, which is one of the reasons why you came. Please NEVER complain if people don't speak English or any other language (except perhaps when you find yourself in a tourist information center). You are the one who is ignorant by not at least trying to work your way with people in their language - sign language and a good phrasebook will get you far anywhere. I despise chronic complainers that expect everyone to speak English.

In general, keep your expectations low. When something cool or funny happens, that is great! But if nothing special happens, that is good too. If you go hitchhiking and expect to get picked up within an hour and two hours passes, you might be pissed. If you go hitchhiking and just hope to get a ride somewhere, then you'll be very happy to get a ride within just two hours, and the time you spent waiting will have been more joyful since you weren't worried.

- Travelling takes time. Don't expect to see most of South America in three weeks or Europe in a month (which is surprisingly common). You will end up stuck in transportation all the time instead of enjoying your vacation. Narrow it down instead, actually getting to know the country that you visit for real, or travel for longer periods of time, making the pr. day expenses of your trip significantly smaller.
I can highly recommend Rolf Potts' writing on this subject.

Learn: Gardening, new languages, anything regarding tools and building things :P

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ABOUT apartments/rooms in Copenhagen, this is what I responded to an Italian girl who contacted me:

"It is often possible to get help from the university, since many uni students rent out their rooms when they go for exchange. Another great method is to look for posters on the university area. A fair price for a room is DKK 2000-3000 (max) and for an apartment max about DKK 4000.

Finally, it is possible for your friend to put up HER own posters stating that she is seeking a room/apartment and the price range she is willing/capable of paying. This can be done both at the uni campuses and at Student Dorms. In my opinion the best place to try and live for a foreigner is a student dorm, where she will meet many Danes and experience the dorms that are an important part of our culture (living closely together, cooking together) and where the most social people and best parties are."

What I Can Share with Hosts

Travel stories, experiences from living in four different continents, knowledge on nutrition, vaccination, discussions about politics, cooking some nice food and enjoying a nice glass of wine with you!

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, France, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Italy, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Peru, Portugal, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, United States, Uruguay, Western Sahara

Countries I’ve Lived In

Brazil, Denmark, Guinea-Bissau, Japan, Sweden

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