Okay, I'm a dazzling young Finnish musician currently traveling in different cities across the United States.

I'm a sociable guy and I love to meet new people, but as a Finn I'm also adept at recognizing when to shut the hell up. I'm well-mannered, clean (though not obsessively-clean-weird-type) and respectful. Sometimes I swear too much. My sense of humor can be a bit strange, but I'd say I'm fun to be around. You can laugh with me or at me. I think most things in life become pretty funny if you look at them long enough.

If I'm alone I like to play (I brought a cheap ukulele with me), write or take pictures - I can occupy myself pretty well. However, traveling alone has taught me the value of company, so I'll definitely enjoy hanging out and hearing about different cultures, everyday lives of different hosts and any idealistic, spiritual or ethical beliefs people have. I'm genuinely interested in people.

As far as my own values go, I'm pretty open-minded towards different people. I guess my views are liberal in a lot ways.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I'm on Couchsurfing because I love the idea of travelers helping each other out! It seems like a great community of people interested in different cultures and lifestyles.

I'm here to find local experiences and learn about all kinds of different folk, as well as share my deep wisdom of the Finns and the Finnish way of life, which is a complicated mixture of reserved and quiet communication and unabashed and shameless nudity related to Sauna and alcohol consumption.

Interests

I'm interested in all things cultural: music, arts, history, theatre etc.

I'm all for long talks about society over good beer & food. You know, pretend to be all sophisticated and shit. I can also do huge and loud parties that go on as long as they have to. Both work for me.

I think I'm just about reaching that dreadful age of adult-hangovers and laziness, so I might not be able to binge for three days and go for a jog the next morning. However, if necessary, I will party on.

Generally, I love to walk around and experience things as they happen. Long walks, both in urban areas and forests/nature are a great way to do this - for me, just seeing people go through life is refreshing and relaxing. Observing and then interacting when I have something to bring in to the situation is cool.

• arts
• literature
• photography
• dining
• cooking
• beer
• sauna
• partying
• crafts
• gardening
• traveling
• drawing
• music
• guitar
• history
• visual arts

Music, Movies, and Books

Right now, my absolute favorite is Leonard Cohen. I've been listening to his albums for the past year and a half and it really is the most beautiful music I've found. I'm also a sucker for Nick Cave, Tom Waits, all of that old, mystic and desperate type of music that hooks you in with insightful lyrics and has character and personality. Also, all kinds of old blues/bluegrass/folk/jazz stuff is great, though I'm definitely no expert on that field.

As for more contemporary stuff, I especially like Father John Misty, Tallest Man on Earth, Elbow, John Grant and a bunch of other stuff as well. I try to remain as open-minded as possible when it comes to music, though I can't say I enjoy everything.

Some of my favorite authors are Kurt Vonnegut, Charles Bukowski, Franz Kafka, Albert Camus, Gabo, Chinua Achebe, William Blake. As far as Finnish literature goes, I'd say my favorite is The Egyptian (Mika Waltari), but for the full-on Finnish mythology you want to check out Kalevala, The Finnish national epic.

I enjoy all kinds of movies, from trashy to profound. My current obsessions are Whiplash and Birdman.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

An amazing thing I've done that comes to mind is when I was young and in love. The first day I went to elementary school, at about 7 years old, I immediately fell for a girl in my class. I decided to confess my love straight away. I told her that her trapper keeper was "sexy" (I'm pretty sure I hadn't grasped the concept of "sexiness" at that point) and that we should totally get married. Additionally, I told her I wasn't opposed to having a large family with two or three children and a big house, and that if we had any trouble with housekeeping issues, my mother would surely help us out.

I got a definite "no" and moved on to fall in love with another girl during that same day. These experiences, and others that followed, led to me finding and somehow winning over the (final) girl of my dreams, so I'd say things worked out well in the end.

Teach, Learn, Share

I'm a musician, so I can teach you some basic guitar skills! Also, I study English literature, so I know little about that too.

I'd love to learn photography and other visual arts. I'm horrible at drawing, but I'd love to learn a bit of that too. I'm open to any new skills and crafts.

I've lived in Finland all my life, and I have a lot of stories of Finns. I've also traveled quite a bit.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can help with household chores, cooking etc. I've recently done some gardening and it was really pleasant, so if you have a garden I'll totally work at that.

Countries I’ve Visited

Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Poland, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Finland