CURRENT MISSION

Back in China... internship and travelling

ABOUT ME

I´m out-going and energetic, I like sports. Maybe I am bit on the hyperactive side if I had a cup of coffee. I love having fun and hanging out with a lot of people, that might be the case because I have a lot of brothers and sisters. But of course I do not need constant entertainment, I am very easy-going.
This year I´m back in China interning at The second affiliated hospital of Zhejiang University, Hangzhou. It´s great, I enjoy it a lot. Learning Chinese might be a bit strange hobby, but I love the language and people are so friendly that I am very motivated. After nine month in Nanjing, China, I finally got to an intermediate level speaking Chinese. I will be in Nanjing for one more month, having a great time with my three Chinese roommates, cooking Chinese and German food together, hanging out, playing badminton and frisbee.
I´m a 25 years old student of medicine. My first name ist Almut which is not the same as Helmut, it has absolutely nothing to do with Helmut Kohl - it´s female! Sometimes I´m a little fed up with repeating my name three times when I introduce myself, so a lot of people especially abroad know me by my second name Karla. I also have a third name which is Henrike. This sounds like Enrique, so my Spanish friends think that I have two male and one female first name.

PHILOSOPHY

How great would it be if people just did favours to everybody without expecting anything in turn? I mean everybody does favours to people one knows... There are so many situations when you can help easily, like giving someone a lift...or a Couch!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I´m quite new in CouchSurfing. I´ve only once slept on a couch in Madrid which was cool. I just moved to Berlin, with a couch open for everyone there.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Until now, few. But I can´t wait for making some more! I think what I will like best about CouchSurfing is the fact that you don´t visit places like a tourist, but that you come to know it with locals. This means that you REALLY come to know it, because you get to know its people! I love the idea! It sounds almost too good, too idealistic to be true!

Interests

I love sports and there is just no better feeling than the tiredness after a long hike, running or going by my bicycle. I also love playing tennis, ping-pong, badminton and every kind of team sports, especially hockey and soccer. With one exception: Volleyball because it simply hurts! I also love meeting up with friends. The best thing which can happen to me is doing sports with friends, of course. I enjoy very much cooking together, I do a lot of German dishes to demonstrate that German food is not only “Wurst und Bier und viel Butter”, “sausages and beer and a lot of butter” although we do have a large variety of the first two in Germany. But there is much more! Than I also like going out a lot, and if there is still time left, I love reading and learning languages. I do always read ten minutes while brushing my teeth in the evening! That means that I often extend tooth-brushing to half an hour... because once I start reading it is very hard for me to stop.
When I visit new places, I like sightseeing, best with a guide, and going out. I love walking around because I think that the only way to really get to know a place. Moreover I like doing weekend stuff like going for a run, reading, siesta, going to the cinema or watching a movie at home, and cooking!

• arts
• dining
• cooking
• beer
• coffee
• running
• walking
• politics
• movies
• reading
• team sports
• traveling
• hiking
• sports
• soccer
• hockey
• tennis
• volleyball
• badminton
• history
• languages
• medicine
• tourism
• sightseeing

Music, Movies, and Books

Books: "El Alquimista", "The Kiterunner", "Life of Pi", "Secret Garden", "Los renglones torcidos de Dios", "Ali en el país de las meravillas", "Der Besuch der alten Dame", I don´t like fantasy books but the ones by Terry Pratchet, and many many more!
Films: “Dogville”, "Volver"

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Travelling on Namibian roads on motorbike just after having obtained the driving licence

Teach, Learn, Share

Teaching:
How to cook German dishes! Apfelstrudel, Streuselkuchen, Züricher Geschnetzeltes... these are tongtwisters but taste great!
Learning
I love talking to people because just everybody can teach you a lot! Discussing art, politics, history...