Hey there people of Couchsurfing!

I'm Tom, 20 years young and having the time of my life on the great trip of my life! After finishing highschool in early 2022 and working for some time to save up money I'm now on my gap year (I hate that term but that's what it is hahaha)!!! I left cozy Ramrath, my hometown in Germany, in March 2023 and have been exploring cultures, places, people and food (especially food) since then!
I have made amazing experiences here on couchsurfing and I hope to make my next with you :)

I would describe myself as a person that prefers a chill night at home or in a cozy bar over clubbing or partying. If you are the absolute party animal though, I'll make sure not to hold you back and join the ride!
This is my general approach to life and especially to being hosted: be yourself but be ready to adapt. In my opinion this is part of being a good surfer!

That's me so far!

If you're reading my profile because you are looking to be hosted: welcome! Even though I am travelling myself, my parents back home will most likely be able to host you and give you an equal experience! They both are "retired travellers" if you want and have lots of amazing stories to share over traditional German (rheinisch) food :)

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

The whole concept fascinated me the moment I learned about it back in 2019. Being too young to travel alone back then I kind of forgot about it until luckily I remembered it a month before I left for my journey.
Opening up your own home to strangers is something that takes courage, but I hope I won't leave as a stranger but as a friend :)

Oh and regarding the courage: I'm totally open to meeting up in a cafe or restaurant if you want to get to know me first!

Interests

• cooking
• working out
• reading
• traveling
• music
• guitar
• hiking
• camping
• history
• nature
• conversation
• cultural exchange
• card/board games

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: from Pop over Rock and Metal to classical music, I enjoy almost everything! My favourite Artists for the genres being Ed Sheeran, AnnenMayKantereit (a German band not really known outside of Germany, but give it a listen!), Ren, Guns N' Roses, SOAD, Queen, Bon Jovi, Nickelback, Metallica, Lamb of God, Amon Amarth, Sabaton, Electric Callboy and Sharks in your Mouth (a secret tip for anyone that enjoys metalcore).
As you can tell from the amount of artists, music is a huge part of my life and I'm always looking for new artists and songs and be inspired by what you listen to!

Books: I used to read a lot when I was 12-15, so mainly children's- and youth books...
Since I started my journey I'm trying to get my hands on as many English classics as possible. So far the most mentionable ones are "20000 leagues under the sea", "Robinson Crusoe" and "1984"

Movies: I "actively" follow the MCU, I watched Star Wars, Lord of the Rings and a few Harry Potter movies. Also, I think I consider "Interstellar" to be my favourite movie of all time (so far).
On the "educational" side: "Das Boot", "Into the wild" and "All quiet on western front" we're amazing.

Shows: Shows I enjoyed a lot were Vikings, Arrow, The Witcher, Naruto and Rick and Morty

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

School exchanges to New Zealand, South Africa and Russia really inspired me to travel on my own as soon as I finished school. I got kissed by an elephant, shot my own springbok, flew over the sea in an ultra lightweight plane and tried traditional Russian dancing!

On "my big trip" specifically:
Froze my a** off in the night for a lovely sight of the balloons of cappadokia in the morning.
Hiked a trail with no experience and a way to heavy backpack for 5 days.
Slept under the stars in a desert.
Hitchhiked 1000km in one day with 8 different people.
Meditated on a lush mountaintop with clouds and fog surrounding everything.
Rode a camel on a safari through yet another desert.

Teach, Learn, Share

I think everyone is able to teach, learn and share with everyone else. It's an exchange you don't always notice, but simply talking to one another will lead to your views and opinions change or strengthen, it will lead to laughter, tears, thoughts and "Aha!" moments. For me, this is one of the most if not even THE crucial part of couchsurfing: communication. I'm a big time talker myself, mostly able to have shallow, fun chats as well as deep conversations (if the mood is right). Travelling has taught me to speak my mind but also listen and most importantly it has taught me that everyone has a story to tell. Give people a chance and 9/10 times you will be pleasently surprised. At least that's my experience so far :)

On a less philosophical and more practical note: please teach me your language, at least to the simple extent of "Hello", "thank you" and "good bye", maybe even a few curse words :D
I have adapted some words from other languages in my everyday way of speaking and I'd love to add more!

On my side: I'd be very happy to share travel stories (good and bad) with you! If you're learning German, I'm your guy. I love the German language and it'd be an honour to teach you some phrases or help you with your studies. Other than that, guitar chords, magic tricks, travel advice...

Like I mentioned earlier, everyone has stuff to share so I'd say meet me and you'll see!

What I Can Share with Hosts

I'm a young man that is open to learn about (almost) everything you enjoy. I'd love to spend time with my hosts, if you do not wish that or are busy, I can spend time on my own.
If you have a spare guitar somewhere we could jam together! I love to sing and once I'm comfortable I'll get the home karaoke going!
I also really enjoy cooking but don't get your hopes too high! Almost every time I tried to cook away from my home kitchen with unknown ingredients it was, let's say, more of an experimental outcome ;)

Overall, I'm looking forward to having a great time with you!

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Cambodia, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, India, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Laos, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Palestine, Qatar, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Vatican City State, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Germany