CURRENT MISSION

Pandora's Aquarium

ABOUT ME

I represent my home country perfectly; I'm small, messy, I have an inner conflict betwee Germanic ideas and French feelings. Tidying takes such a long time, because my constitution is occasionally not very logical.
I taste like brown Leffe and dark chocolate. :)

I am very passionate about languages. I read a lot and I write as well. Usually poetry, but now and then some free lance articles and blog posts.

PHILOSOPHY

Life's a journey, not a destination... (an American rockstar)

People walk into life backwards with their face towards the past.(a Greek philosopher)

One day the sun will rise in the West... a Hadith referring to one there will be science along declaring the Creation, refers to Copernicus, Mercator, Vesalius etc... living in the west coming up with great scietific ideas that will break the traditional ideas of thinking. The sun rises in the East so the West refers also to a change. Well that's my interpretation at least...

But in fact, I'm not that keen on famous phrases and slogans said by important people. I prefer daily wisdom of common people which you find in talking and chatting instead of "one marvellous quote". It's seems not that easy to find wisdom in daily conversations and it looks like there are only a few pearls in the big puddle of mud. Sometimes it's not even mud, it is quicksand, but struggling is worth it and that brings me to another quote in which I now and then believe...

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

In Belgium, I welcome people in my place. After being a vegetarian, I became vegan and I am trying to veganize every single dish possible. However, my place and kitchen are quite small and messy, so for the moment I prefer to just meet up. I can show you around in Ghent and Brussels. F.e. 'the red walk', 'the chocolate walk', etc...
When I go couchsurfing, I bring a typical Belgian present: chocolate beer or a cd from a Belgian artist.
I can teach you some Dutch, French and Swedish. :)

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

London: Goshka & Fernanda, Oliver
Swindon: Stephan
Göteborg: Bengt
Stockholm: öyvind,Peder
Luleaa: Mathias, Marita
Copenhagen: Bwayla
Liverpool: Akil
Amsterdam: Jessica
Berlin: Henni & Manu
Bangor: Daniel

Interests

I've got too many interests for a lifetime...
I like tea, trains, vegan food, cats, tubemaps, spicy things, dark chocolate, pipes, the colour red, sad songs, sepia/black and white photography ...
I have not found an editor, so I make booklets and zines myself.

• cats
• books
• architecture
• photography
• philosophy
• science
• veganism
• local history
• intersectional feminism

Music, Movies, and Books

Too many...

I like Leonard Cohen, Nick Drake, Tori Amos, etc... Stevie Wonder a.o. motown artists, but also classical and more contemporary music.

I have so many books I'm afraid I won't finish them all before I'm dead. I like Alice Munro and Elena Ferrante for the moment. I'm also very fond of the non-fiction works by f.e. Carol J. Adams and bell hooks, and so on.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Occupied area, the cruel apartheid wall, etc...
Nature's "weird" things f.e. the death sea, a red water source in Andalusia, weeping willows, ...

Me (visually impaired in the left eye) and a completely blind trying drive a gocart on a dike under construction.

Midsummernight in Sweden; I wasn't aware it was such party...

Being chased by the cops in an wood in the north of Sweden. Apparently we were not allowed to get in there. The wood will be chucked down to serve for terrain to build villas and big resorts for the rich.

A drunk man on the tube in London starting to sing mocking songs about the Irish because he though I was Irish

Extremely agressive mosquitos in Potsdam(DE) and Gammelstadt(SE)
Free counters

Teach, Learn, Share

I though I should return so much harder when returning from the Middle-East, because my sadness and problems should mean nothing to people who are living/ have lived a war and living in this situation of apartheid and occupation everyday. Though it made me only realize that I should not neglect my own problems and trouble in my own country, that people here have the right to cry and worry as well despite Belgium is said to be on the seventh place of the richest countries in the world.

What I Can Share with Hosts

"The stories of the street are mine..."

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Palestine, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Belgium, Sweden

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