CURRENT MISSION

Spend time with good people, do good work, drink good beer, be the best friend I can be - and do as much of it outdoors as I can.

ABOUT ME

Greetings from Seattle! I'm Axel (or "Chip") and have lived here for almost 15 years now. I enjoy seeing my city through other people's eyes. It makes me appreciate everything Seattle has to offer.

Two strong sides to me: one side enjoys the brain-work of technical subjects and languages; the other side is all about being outdoors, traveling and experiencing. Moving to Denmark soon to complete work on masters degree in sustainability.

I'm usually rather responsible and predictable, but have no problem letting loose and going with new experiences, often just to experience them.

I like seeing how other people live and do things. I've adopted bits and pieces from everyone who had been special to me over the years. So, surprise me! ;-)

PHILOSOPHY

Tough to sum up a philosophy in a few words, but respect for others is a big part of it...knowing how one's actions affect other people and things. Plus a big dose of communication and experiencing new things from other people's points of view.

I once heard a quote by a philosopher...I can't remember whom and I will paraphrase it badly here, (if anyone knows the original citation, let me know):

"if you try something once, you're an adventurer; twice, you're a pervert."

Funny but some truth to that maybe...

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I've stayed with friends in Europe since I was young and, although CouchSurfing wasn't around then, some of my best experiences came as a result of that. Am looking forward to meeting new people in the months to come as well as hosting as often as I can.

Interests

Eclectic. I like learning and experiencing new things...but at the same time I like a solid base of friends and home.

My strongest interests are:
* Languages - it's cool being able to communicate with people and experience situations you otherwise might miss out on. I enjoy the challenge of learning and improving the languages I know.

* Aviation - I have my private pilot's license and hoping to add more ratings soon. The dream is to fly a float plane!

* Sailing - A passion, but a bit neglected these days. I'd like to do an long-haul open ocean trip, but so far have mostly spent time cruising in Sweden and the Caribbean. Hoping to add Greece/Turkey to the list next winter.

* Scuba Diving - Cold water and warm water. I started diving in a cold water region. So that's the norm. Love the warm water dives, too, but they're not as handy.

• cooking
• beer
• drinking
• flying
• aviation
• traveling
• outdoor activities
• adventure races
• scuba diving
• sailing
• languages
• philosophy

Music, Movies, and Books

The ones that come to mind at the moment:

The Red Violin. All time fav.
The Incredibles. Loved it (especially Edna).
Lion in Winter (Hepburn is cool).
Patrik 1,5 (Swedish)

Music:

I like modern/pop in a variety of languages. I enjoy discovering little-known artists in different countries and sharing that with friends who are into similar kinds of music. Some great stuff out there outside the mainstream. I constantly surprise myself at the different kinds of music I like. It's good to groove!

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Diving the cenotes in the Yucatan and shark dives in the Great Barrier Reef top the list.

Teach, Learn, Share

Can definitely share a love of languages. Not a half-bad cook, either.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, China, Croatia, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Malaysia, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Virgin Islands, British

Countries I’ve Lived In

Finland, Japan, Mexico, Sweden, United States

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