Hi, Hallo! Son of two 70's hippies, who raised me to be open and inviting to other people, cultures and mindsets. This is also one of the reasons why I decided to do a China Studies bachelor after finishing my physics bachelor. I am at my happiest when I learn new people from around the world and share stories, philosophies, interests and together create beautiful memories.

When I was a Physics student I decided to follow a minor in Chinese language and culture. One thing led to another and before I knew I was attending an exchange semester at Peking University. Before I started at Peking University I first followed a summer school in Japan and worked for a few weeks on a tea farm in Taiwan. After I finished my exchange semester I realized that the place where I felt most at home was Taiwan. In my experience Taiwanese people are more friendly and open minded then in Mainland China. Therefore, after gotten back from my exchange semester I decided to do China studies bachelor at Leiden University, especially because Leiden University has a strong focus on Taiwan and taught its students traditional characters. This semester I will finally return to Taiwan to study for half a year Chinese Language at the NTNU in Taipei.

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I couchsurfed before but that was with the account of my girlfriend (https://couchsurfing.page.link/Mg3rQPv9awUSTaq99 here you can have a quick look!). Sorry for not having any recommendations/reviews yet (maybe you can be the first :O)! My experiences so fair were one of the most memorable of the whole holiday :)).
I hope in the future to be able to host other surfers as well. As of now my place is to small to host :(.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

For me the most important part of couchsurf is learn to know locals and to make beautiful memories together. I would love to make new Taiwanese friends and find new language buddies to teach each other English/Dutch/Taiwanese. When I just reactivated couchsurf it made me so happy to see how other people described themselves and their personal philosophies on their couchsurf profiles. In this turbulent and tragic time of increasing international conflicts, I think it is even more important to connect with people from all over the world and learn to understand and feel that we just all are humans and want to enjoy life together.

Interests

I love to organise Chinese tea sessions. I think it is a great way to catch up with friends or invite new people to my house. It's also a great way of chilling with people without drinking to much and to often alcoholic beverages. Another beautiful aspects of tea ceremonies is that it is a ritual of giving and receiving. I receive the tea leaves that are a gift from nature. Reciprocally, I prepare the tealeaves for my guests, who receive a steaming bowl of soothing tea. In the synthesis of the sharing the tea bowls and experiencing the same tea gifted from nature lies the connection. Waaait...! Hegel! Is that you?

This brings me to my second interest, Philosophy! I followed quite some courses in philosophy and I am both interested in Western and Asian Philosophy. Since a few years some friends and I created and anarchistic-philosophy book reading club. Our most recent read was Religion and Nothingness by Nishitani, but we also read philosophers like Nietzsche, Foucault and Mark Fisher.

When I am not busy with theoretical stuff like philosophy and studying I am often brewing beer together with a good friend of mine. We especially like to brew Kveik beers and wild fermented sour ales.

• festivals
• cooking
• running
• meditation
• reading
• juggling
• hiking
• backpacking
• philosophy
• learning languages
• fermentation
• beer brewing
• polyamory
• balfolk
• chinese tea ceremony
• taiwanese culture
• underground parties
• art house movies
• nightlive
• organising parties

Music, Movies, and Books

Well this is of course only a very small quite random selection :p

Music: Jazz, Folk, Metal, Psy Trance, minimalistic music, EDM, Techno, classical music.
Artists: Shpongle, ChthoniC, Snarky Puppy, Heilung, David Bowie, Pink Floyd, Philip Glass, Moonsorrow, Worakls, Infected Mushroom, AnnenMayKantereit

Books: Religion and Nothingness, Capitalist Realism, Crime and Punishment, Lolita, The Master and Margarita, Doors of perception, all books by Walter Moers, Dune, The three body problem, Things Fall Apart, Guns Germs and Steel, Norwegian Woods, The Name of the Rose, Dante's Divine Comedy, Game of Thrones, Discipline and Punish, Garlic Ballads, Noma's Guide to Fermentation. Need some Taiwanese literature recommendations!

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Did an exchange semester in Beijing (before Covid!!)

Teach, Learn, Share

What I can teach? I can teach you English or Dutch. If you are interested in brewing beer I can tell you a lot about it. If you have honey and yeast I could even show you how to make mead. I like to talk about romantic relationship and often friends find my advice helpful. So if you want a 'strangers' ear or opinion I am always happy to listen :). I am always up to go on an adventure together and if you happen to like drinking tea, lets drink some tea!! Moreover philosophize and talk about life, maybe we could exchange music, book, film favorites and this way learn from each other :))

What I Can Share with Hosts

Partly already mention in the Teach, Learn, Share section. I would love to cook together. Also please let me know what you would like to try from the Netherlands so that I can bring some!

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, China, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Morocco, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Scotland, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, United Kingdom, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

China, Netherlands