Couchsurfing is about cultural exchange, not free accomodation. *** I'm declining copy-paste requests. *** I only know a few days in advance whether I'm available to host, so I won't give you an answer weeks before the day you requested!!! *** Teach me some Spanish, por favor!!!

Dear Friend,
when it comes to introductions I always think of a newly formed group of students. Everyone tries to put themselves in the best possible light, some fight for the role of the leader some shy away from the center of attention and talk in pairs in a corner of a classroom or even sit alone and observe the others. It's fascinating to watch how friendships are made, cliques are formed, fights are won and lost, but in the end the group in a way becomes one big family. If it works that way with a big, random group of adolescents it can work with anyone. Actually one of my favourite quotes is:
“There isn’t anyone you couldn’t love once you’ve heard their story.”
I strongly believe if we listen to each other and try to understand each other’s story we can create a better world and that’s why I’d like to know locals when I travel and not only see the buildings but understand the people living in them.

So here are some parts of my story:
My name is Bogi and I am from Eger, a wonderful little town in the North-East of Hungary. I am a language teacher by heart and according to my degree, but I had to change jobs because working as a teacher in Hungary is "an expensive hobby".

So now I work remotely as a software engineer and travel quite a lot, though I have my home base in Budapest. My chosen home; however, is İstanbul. I keep returning to Turkey and I even learned Turkish well enough to get around in everyday life.

When I travel, I really enjoy sightseeing but the thing I like even more is “peoplewatching”. I’m fascinated by how people in different countries live their lives and I really like to spend time observing them.
I spend my free time hanging out with friends, reading, going to the gym, cooking, watching series and listening to music.
Dear Friend, I hope to tell you the rest of my story in person. If you have read this far, include the phrase "CS spirit" in your request. That way I know you actually took the time to check out my profile.

Finally, I’d also like to share some wise thoughts which I full-heartedly agree with:
“Ha megszeretlek, kopogtatás nélkül bejöhetsz hozzám, de gondold jól meg, bántana, ha azután sokáig elkerülnél.” /József Attila/
This is my favourite quote by my favourite Hungarian poet. Roughly translated:
"If I get to love you, you can visit me any time without knocking, but think it well over: it would grieve me if you didn't come too long.”

“We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” /George Bernard Shaw/

“Enjoy the little things in life because one day you`ll look back and realize they were the big things.” /Kurt Vonnegut/

“And in that moment, I swear we were infinite.” /Stephen Chbosky/

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I have been a Servas ( http://www.servas.org/ ) member for a while and I hosted a lot of travellers. I really like Servas because the main aim of the Organization is "to help build world peace, goodwill and understanding by providing opportunities for personal contacts among people of different cultures, backgrounds and nationalities." Unfortunately, Servas doesn't seem to be very popular with the younger generations so I've decided to also join couchsurfing. :)

Interests

• books
• dancing
• education
• reading
• traveling
• music
• skiing
• swimming
• teaching
• languages
• biking
• making friends

Music, Movies, and Books

Too many books to list, so just a few: Perks of Being a Wallflower, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter (yeah, I belong to the Potter generation), Memoirs of a Geisha, Protected Men, ...
Movies: Before Sunrise, PK, Three Idiots, Imitation Game, Persepolis, Finding Neverland, Devil Wears Prada, Love Actually...
Music: Jazz and also I usually look for good lyrics when I listen to music.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

-A short teaching practice in Vienna, where I was teaching German to immigrants. :)
-Couchsurfing in Turkey for 2 months. *.*

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Austria, Hungary, Turkey, United States