My name is Valentin, I'm 18 years old and I'm from Berlin, Germany. Currently I work as a volunteer english teacher in Jiahui (加会), a small village in Guangxi, China. Here I teach over 800 students in 17 different classes. My biggest class has 64 students.
Before I came to China I went to School in two German international schools, in which most of the subjects were taught in English. Also I spent a year in Berkeley, CA, USA.
I can speak German and English fluently. I learnt french in school for six years, but I havn't practiced it in a while, so it's a bit rusty. I can speak enough chinese to barely get along in China, but I hope it'll improve in the next months.

Why don't I offer my couch?
My appartment is inside a middle school in China. I am not allowed to let foreigners stay on the school campus over night. I'll be happy to offer a place to sleep once I return to Germany in Octobre.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I currently work in China as a volunteer English teacher. I would like to take the chance to travel around Asia during the chinese spring holidays, since I probably won't have the chance to do so again when I'm back in Germany. Couchsurfing gives me the possibillity to do so, while meeting cool people from different countries and getting a unique insight to the countries culture.

Interests

Cooking (I often jobbed in restauraunts in Berlin and London during holidays, so I'm quite good at it)
Hiking (My longest hikes include Yosemite, Elbe Sandstone Mountains and the Crossing of the Alps from Germany to Italy)
Reading (I read anything I can get my hands on, as long as it's in German, English or French, and it's not Twilight or Fifty Shades of Grey)
Playing Chess and other board games
Skiing
Running

• culture
• cooking
• running
• board games
• chess
• reading
• traveling
• hiking
• skiing
• teaching
• languages
• volunteering
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

Books:
-A Game of Thrones
-The Old Man and the Sea
-Call of the Wild
-The King Killer Chronicles
-All books by Bernhard Cornwell
-A Thousand Splendid Suns
-The Kite Runner
-The Great Gatsby
-Nineteen Eighty Four

Music:
-The Who
-Simon & Garfunkel
-The Rolling Stones
-Pink Floyd
-Neil Young
-Milky Chance
-Maroon 5
-Leonhard Cohen
-Led Zeppelin
-John Lennon
-Jimi Hendrix
-Hot Chocolate
-George Micheal
-The Doors
-Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
-Bob Marley
-Bob Dylan
-Black Sabbath

Movies:
I enjoy watching movies, but I'm very bad at remembering their titles, actors etc.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Lived in places all over the World:
-I was born in Frankfurt, Germany and lived there for 6 years
-I lived in Berlin for 12 years, and went to school there
-I lived in Berkeley, CA, USA for one year
-I worked in a restaurant in London for one month
-I spent several months in France, mostly in Paris and Montpellier
-I live in a small village in China since 4 months, where I teach English ESL in a middle school

Teach, Learn, Share

What I can teach:
-English and German, I work as a teacher after all.
-Cooking. I worked in different restauraunts in Berlin and London and can cook many dishes from all over Europe
What I would like to learn:
-Languages. Maybe you can teach me how to say some easy sentences in your mothertongue.
-Maybe your favourite dish, so I can add it to my collection of recipies.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Italy, Poland, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

China, Germany, United States