Born and raised in the rural town of Poperinge, West-Flanders, I have since lived in Ghent, and currently Antwerp.
When it comes to everyday life, one can definitely call me a city person. I love having lots of cultural venues and events nearby.
When it comes to travelling however, there are two options: Either I go to a foreign city and absorb as much culture and architecture as I can, or I venture out into nature, preferably as far away from any human settlements as possible.
I love travelling solo, but I think I slightly prefer having soms travelling companions alongside me.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

1. Engaging in a more social form of travel. Meeting people from around the world without even having to leave my city.
2. It's a great compromise between my desire to travel a lot and the desire to have some savings for later.

Interests

• architecture
• festivals
• cooking
• beer
• coffee
• vegetarian
• politics
• trivia
• movies
• live music
• alternative music
• rock music
• guitar
• hiking
• camping
• ecology
• history
• philosophy
• science
• mountains
• comedy

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: Alternative/indie/experimental rock. Classical music. Post-hardcore, post-punk. Some blues and jazz. My favorite unknown band is called Oceansize. My favorite well known band is The National.
Film: Coen brothers/Scorcese/Nolan/Kubrick
Books: I read a lot of non-fiction lately. Some psychology, some politics, some journalism. Favorite: Thinking fast and slow, by D. Kahneman.
Favorite fiction novel I've read in the latest years: The solitude of prime numbers, by P. Giordano.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

In my three year graduate school where I learned Building science, there was a Syrian refugee of my age who fled from the Assad regime (this was before the war), because he was a member of a forbidden student Kurdish political party. He was motivated and smart, but he lacked knowledge of Dutch, which he was only learning for about half a year when the school started.

After failing his first exam, the teacher simply told him that he wasn't good enough and that he should probably go do something with his hands if he wanted to be in construction. So, because I knew he was smart enough, and to prove that teacher wrong, for the next three years we always studied together for our exams. I tried to explain all the syllabi to him, which contained loads of technical concepts in Dutch.

He succeeded for every course and we graduated together. Sometimes I think i'm more proud of the fact that he got his degree than for the fact that I've got mine. Since then, he has found employment in Antwerp and he has succeeded to become part of our society. I like to think it was 99% because he earned it, and 1% because i helped him along the way.

Teach, Learn, Share

For when you visit Antwerp:
I can recommend using the red city bicycles. You can get a day pass online within a matter of seconds if you have a credit card.
If you enjoy vegetarian indian food, you must check out Aahaar. Cheap vegetarian all-you-can-eat buffet for €10.
If it's hot outside during the summer and you want to swim, there's a free swimming pond in the Boekenberg park and De Molen.
If you want to see live rock concerts for free, go to Trix on thursdays.
If you want to see live alternative music for a cheap price, go to Het Bos.
If you want to see cheap live comedy (mostly Dutch, some English), go to The Joker on wednesdays and sundays.
If you want to find out where all the hipsters are hanging out, go to Zurenborg or try the east side of the Kattendijkdok
If I am available I'm always open for exploring the city myself. I have lived in Antwerp for three years and it still feels like I'm a visitor sometimes.

What I Can Share with Hosts

A smile, a talk, cooking with you, doing the dishes, some Belgian chocolate...
Or I will simply leave you alone if you prefer that.
I'm not a late night person, so if I stay over I won't come home drunk at 3am. :)

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Scotland, Slovenia, Spain, Wales

Countries I’ve Lived In

Belgium