¡¡¡***(NOTE: It may not show a recent login for me, but I get email notifications when people request to surf, and will usually respond to those promptly unless I'm somewhere without Internet access for a while.

I live in a small town though, which isn't really a major tourist destination, so I generally don't get a lot of requests. So unless someone's recently written me or if I happen to be planning a trip where I'm gonna couch-surf then I often don't have reason to login for quite a while.

But this doesn't mean that I won't get and quickly respond to requests from prospective CouchSurfers :-)) ***!!!

¡¡¡UNDER CONSTRUCTION!!!

This is a work in progress. I hadn't used CouchSurfing for several years - from the time quit traveling, until now, when I'm finally in a position to host travelers at my residence here in Germany.

So a lot of the "about me" info is a bit out of date. I will be gradually updating it as time and energy permits. (The info about my current residence and how I can host is up to date.)

I'm ready to start hosting now though, if anyone is coming through Korbach, which is located in the north of the state of Hessen, at the edge of the Sauerland region, and near the larger cities of Kassel, Marburg, and Paderborn :-)

CURRENT MISSION

Living, learning, working, playing, and enjoying! :-)

ABOUT ME

I'm translating my whole profile to Spanish. If you see any errors, or if you have suggestions for better phrasing, feel free to contact me :-)

*ABOUT ME IN GENERAL:

I don't know how much I'm gonna be able to cover here, but to list a few things...

I'm an artist, activist, animal lover, vegetarian/vegan (I don't eat eggs or milk/dairy products). I love to cook, travel (of course!), go hiking, camping, biking, swimming, reading, and all sorts of other fun stuff.

I've experimented a little bit with video production and graphic design.

*ABOUT ME AS A GUEST:

I'm usually pretty low-maintenance. If you're busy with work or whatever then I can entertain myself pretty well. So you shouldn't feel obligated to be my tour-guide. Though of course if you have the time and want to show me some cool people and places then that's always appreciated :-)

In terms of my required accommodations, I'm low-maintenance too. If you have a nice guest-bed or comfy sofa that's great, but if you don't that's fine. I've got my own sleeping bag and bed-roll, so even plain floor space can work (though floor-surfing doesn't have quite the same ring to it ;-) If it's not real cold or wet out, I'd usually even be happy to camp outside (if there's space available for that).

I try and make myself useful if I can. I love to help with gardening and cooking. And walking/playing with/feeding dogs, cats, or other animals. I can always help with dish-washing, shopping, and that sort of thing. I can do other chores too, and can even help with kids sometimes...

I don't smoke, but don't mind staying with a host who does. I keep pretty cleanly, and shower as much as possible when I'm on the road.

I'm a pretty strict vegetarian, so there's a good chance if you take me to a restaurant that I won't be able to eat anything there. And that's cool - as I don't mind sitting around and talking with you while I watch you eat. But just try and keep in mind that I may be getting hungry in the next hour or two, so you could check in and see if I need to go back to the place and cook something or run by a store and buy some ready-to-eat food :-)

*ABOUT ME AS A TRAVELER:

I identify myself not as a tourist, but rather as a traveler. Sure, sometimes it's fun to spend a day every now and then doing touristy stuff - checking out a museum, posing for pictures in front of some castle or cathedral, etc. But what I value more is getting to know a place...Of course the nature - if there are natural areas nearby - and the real cultural life of the cities and towns: activism, alternative communities, undiscovered artists, etc. And, above all, getting to meet interesting new people and have meaningful conversations.

*ABOUT ME SOCIALLY:

I can sometimes be a little shy if I've just met someone (or haven't met them yet!), but once I get to talking a bit and feel comfortable I tend to be a very open and outgoing person :-)

I don't drink alcohol very often, but you might be able to talk me into drinking a little - just as long as it's not beer! I really prefer parties and get-togethers in people's houses or out in nature to hanging around in bars or clubs, but if you get me drunk ahead of time then you may be able to drag me out for a night of clubbing ;-)
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Estoy traduciendo todo mi perfil a Español. Si ves algunos errores, o si tienes algunas sugerencias para expresarme mejor, me puedes escribir :-)

*SOBRE MI EN GENERAL:

Creo que no podré cubrir mucho aqui, pero puedo listar algunas cosas...

So un artista, activista, amigo de animales, y vegetariano/vegano (no como ni juevos ni leche ni productos hecho de ella). Me encanta cocinar, viajar (claro!), caminar en la naturaleza, acampar, montar en bici, nadar, leer, y hacer muchas más cosas divertidas.

He experimentado un poquito con producción de video y diseño gráfico.

*SOBRE MI COMO INVITADO:

Soy un invitado muy facil para acomodar. Si estas ocupado con trabajo o cualquier cosa, puedo pasarla bien sin que me tengas que entretener. Entonces, no debes sentirte obligado de servir como mi guía de turismo. Claro, si tienes tiempo y quieres mostrarme algunos lugares o personas interestantes en tu ciudad - esto siempre será bien apreciado. :-)

Para mis acomodaciones fisicas, soy muy flexible y facil tambien. Si tienes una cama para invitados o un sofa comodo, que bueno, pero si no lo tienes no hay ningun problema. Tengo un saco de dormir y un colchón de acampar, y puedo dormir en cualquier espacio libre del suelo. Tambien, si no hay bastante espacio en la casa, yo tengo una tienda de acampar y puedo dormir alli si el tiempo esta bueno y hay bastante espacio para acampar alli.

Trato de ser util cuando soy un invitado. Me encanta cocinar y trabajar en jardines. Tambien, me gusta jugar con y dar de comer a animales. Y siempre puedo ayudar con varias tareas - como lavar platos, ir de compras, etc. A veces puedo cuidar a niños.

SOBRE MI COMO VIAJERO:

No me identifico como turista, sino como viajero. Si, a veces es divertido pasar un dia haciendo cosas turisticas - viendo museos, sacando fotos con castillos y catedrales, etc. Pero lo que vale mucho mas para mi es una oportunidad real para conocer un lugar - la naturaleza, si la hay, y la vida cultural real de las ciudades y los pueblos...Cosas como activismo, comunidades alternativas, artistas que ya no son muy conocidos, etc. Y, sobre todo, me encantan oportunidades para conocer a personas interestantes y tener conversaciones profundas.

SOBRE MI SOCIALMENTE:

A veces puedo estar un poco timido con personas nuevas (especialmente antes de introducirnos!), pero despues de hablar un ratito y sentirme mas comodo soy mucho mas abierto y extrovertido :-)

No bebo alcohol a menudo, pero a veces me podras convencer de beber - pero solo si no es cerveza! Para la vida social, prefiero fiestas y reuniones en casas o en la naturaleza mucho mas que los bares y clubes. Pero quizas, si me emboraches antes, me podras llevar a una noche en las discotecas ;-)

PHILOSOPHY

It would take at least a book to outline everything I believe in, but to list a few things...

I believe in freedom, individual self-determination, and free-association. I oppose all forms of authoritarianism. I believe that in order to truly be free, people must know the relevant *true* facts. Mass-deception enables tyranny.

Political corruption, tyranny, and evil is enabled by divisions over relatively petty and shallow "issues." Divided and conquered. Too often, people endorse a certain view simply because it's been accepted by those they associate with. Free-thinking is essential!

Ultimately, freedom prospers when people allow it to - both for themselves and others.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I've been a member of CouchSurfing since December of 2006. I've made some suggestions in the groups for how to improve CS. I always make sure to tell people about CS if I think they would make good guests and hosts. In the future I may do other things to help with the project. And once I'm settled down again for a while, I would love to have some guests come through :-)

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Prior to hearing about CouchSurfing.com, I'd had quite a few folks stay at my place...They'd found me either through common friends/acquaintances/roommates, through the Rainbow Guide, or just by chance! And I'd also ran into some nice folks traveling who'd let me stay at their place. Joining CS was the first time that I joined a formal hospitality-exchange network. Having an online network like this makes things immensely easier - both for guests to find hosts and hosts to find guests :-)

I've now stayed with dozens of hosts who I met through CS, and a few from Hospitality Club as well. I've also met a lot of other CSers along the way. I hope that CS and other such networks will continue to thrive for quite sometime!

Interests

Nature, art, music, meeting people, good food, and lots and lots of other stuff...

Feel free to contact me to learn more!
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La naturaleza, arte, musica, conocer a personas nuevas, comida buena, y muchas, muchas otras cosas.

Me puedes escribir si quieres saber más!

• animals
• cats
• dogs
• arts
• books
• design
• graphic design
• dining
• cooking
• beer
• vegetarian
• vegan
• running
• walking
• partying
• drinking
• clubbing
• gardening
• shopping
• reading
• traveling
• socializing
• music
• cycling
• hiking
• camping
• surfing
• swimming
• geography
• languages
• software
• tourism
• hitchhiking
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies/Pelis: V for Vendetta, Pump Up the Volume, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Woody Allen, JFK, Natural Born Killers, La Lengua de la Mariposa, 9/11 Mysteries, Pow-Wow Highway, O' Brother Where Art Thou, El Laberinto del Fauno, a lot more - I'll try and add them as they come to mind/Muchas mas - tratare de añadirlas cuando llego a pensar de las...

Music/a: Jimmy Cliff, Jimi Hendrix, Dead Kennedys, Immortal Technique, L7, Toots and the Maytals, Janis Joplin, Johnny Cash, Wanda Jackson, Leonard Cohen, Alpha Blondie, and a whole whole lot more/y mucho mucho mas!

Books/Libros: The New Pearl Harbor, Animal Farm, Anarchist Farm, End Time, 1984, Diet for a New America, etc...

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Done: Spent more than nine months traveling all around the Middle-East and Europe - mostly by hitch-hiking, spent a couple weeks living in a tree house 100 meters (~300 feet) above the ground in the Oregon rain-forest, lived for more than 27 years as a vegetarian and more than seven as a vegan, took part in the famous WTO protest or "Battle of Seattle" back in '99 - where we shut down the meeting of the World Trade Organization, and a number of other interesting things here and there... :-)

Seen: The great coastal Redwoods of California, Jerusalem, Wadi Rum - in the Arabian desert of Jordan, The Alps, Vancouver Island, The Rocky Mountains, The beautiful deserts of Southern Utah, and lots of other cool places....

Teach, Learn, Share

I enjoy teaching and learning languages, cooking techniques, political ideas and philosophies, geography, art techniques, stuff about computers and software, video production/editing, gardening, and lots and lots of other stuff!....
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Me gusta enseñar y aprender idiomas, maneras de cocinar, ideas politicas y filosoficas, geografia, arte, informatica, produccion de video, horticultura, y un monton de otras cosas!...

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Chile, Croatia, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Syrian Arab Republic, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, Germany, New Zealand, United States

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