Howdy Traveler,
welcome to my profile! I've been doing this for a loooong time so here's the thing: if you want me to host you, please don't...

...send a copy-paste request.
...have nothing or very little about yourself in your profile.
...send last-minute request.

Now, let's begin with some definitions:
- A traveler is a person open to new ideas.
- A tourist is a person looking for comfort and relaxation.

- A traveler does CS, eats, travels, laughs and cries with locals.
- A tourist goes to a hotel, buys souvenirs and takes package tours.

About me: 80% traveler, 20% tourist. I like cultural shocks, remote places, natural wonders, new flavours, unexpected events. I love harsh desserts, mysterious mountains and quiet countryside villages. I will do anything new just for the sake of it being new.

PHILOSOPHY
'Compare yourself to who you were yesterday not to who someone else is today.' (J. Peterson)
'Your mind is not obvious to itself.' (A. de Botton)
'Host also people whom you dislike.' (Angela H., a sheep farmer from New Zealand)

Don't let your phone distract you from the real world around you.
Pick up hitch-hikers.
Don't be politically correct.
Never trust your intuition.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I am an experienced couch surfer, I've done it 60+ times. I've had about 3 bizzare experiences but no bad ones really. I couch-surfed in many places around the world.

Apart from CS I've stayed with people whom I met on the spot. Sometimes they helped me, sometimes I helped them, mostly they just invited me to their house. Those experiences are precious to me. If you want me to host you, include in your message the following: I am a sheep from New Zealand.

I once got in trouble on a random Indonesian island where I was just about the only traveller. A young boy of 19 years helped me big time. Some years later he got brain tumour. He asked me to contribute for his surgery. I did. Today he's 33 and lives in Melbourne. This is proper stuff! This is real! Are you kidding me???

Interests

I'm a classical musician. Music is my passion and my profession, I work what I live and I live what I work.

I practice Chinese tea ceremony (welcome to join in), I travel (these days mostly without any plans).
I'm into sports (swimming, hiking, skiing, cross-country-skiing).
I read books, I walk fast and I play the jew's harp. I'm into psychology and evolutionary biology. I love cooking.

• wildlife
• culture
• environment
• dining
• cooking
• desserts
• yoga
• running
• meditation
• traveling
• piano
• hiking
• skiing
• sports
• geography
• history
• psychology
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

Let's not talk about music. You're not a classical musician so I don't want to bore you. But if you ever feel like it, try listening to a Beethoven symphony. It'll do you only good, I promise.

Some books I think everyone deserves to read:
SCIENCE: Guns, Germs and Steel (Jared Diamond), Black Box Thinking (Matthew Syed), Outliers (Malcolm Gladwell)...
FITCION: The Elegance of the Hedgehog (Muriel Barbery), The Unbearable Lightness of Being (Milan Kundera), Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury)...

Some films I think everyone deserves to see: Eyes Wide Shut, Capernaum, Mullholland Drive, Parasite, Grand Budapest Hotel.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Here's the story: I forgot my passport, my wallet with all the money (except some change in my pocket), credit cards and plane tickets in a front seat pocket of a night bus to the airport of Ujung-Pandang (Makassar) on Sulawesi, Indonesia. I (typically) didn't panic but took a cab to the imigration office which was on another airport an hour drive away. I miraculously had a photocopy of my passport and after severe inspection and questioning I was given a temporary visa to be able to get out of the country. I returned back to the first airport with my last few cents and found out that a local guy had already been searching for me. He saw what had happened, then went home, changed his clothes, took his motorbike, drove to the airport, found me and returned me all the stuff that I had lost on that bus. He didn't want money or food or drink, he just thought it was normal to give a guy back his stuff no matter the effort. This is proper stuff! This is real! Are you kidding me???

Teach, Learn, Share

This stuff usually happens spontaneously but I do love it when we cook for each other.

What I Can Share with Hosts

The story of my life up until now. My vibe and thoughts and my cooking skills (feel free to exploit me for that).

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Fiji, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Italy, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malaysia, Malta, Montenegro, Morocco, Myanmar, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Oman, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Tonga, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uzbekistan, Vatican City State, Viet Nam, Zimbabwe

Countries I’ve Lived In

Belgium, New Zealand, Slovenia

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