CURRENT MISSION

to live, love, learn, and play

ABOUT ME

How reliable are a person's self-descriptions? :-)

Well... I think I'm gregarious, helpful, energetic, impulsive, inquisitive, creative, practical, and independent-minded. I love meeting people, hearing stories, and discussing ideas.

I just recently left a perfectly good job to run my own projects. Take a look at Impromptu, a musical theatre group I set up; and the blog of a recent road trip I made in connection with my here+now project.

I love good food, but I'm a crap cook. :-)

PHILOSOPHY

How long have you got...? :-)
I suppose it hinges on this: the universe is basically a friendly and generous place. So be happy, and play your part in it!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I'm confident I can help in lots of ways. By offering a couch (actually two beds), for a start.
And I once put on a trip round Amsterdam's canals in my boat Y, a 100-year-old, solid iron salmon fishing boat. That was fun and I will do it again; watch the Amsterdam group.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Just one occasion, rescued by a couchsurfer in Maastricht after I escaped from Nazi Germany in July 2007. It's a long story...

I did lots and lots of hitchhiking in my teens and twenties. I used to watch the Citroen DSes go by and wish they would stop to pick me up. Now I drive my own Citroen DS and I pick up every hitchhiker I see - but there don't seem to be as many as before; perhaps people are warier of strangers than they used to be. :-) If you ever see a bright yellow Citroen DS Break, stick your thumb out!

Interests

People: music, singing, dance, theatre, language, culture, behaviour, psychology, philosophy
Places: travel, history, architecture, nature, swimming
Things: technology, evolution, design, the kind of food I could never cook

• culture
• singing
• architecture
• design
• dancing
• dining
• cooking
• running
• boating
• technology
• traveling
• socializing
• blogging
• music
• guitar
• piano
• fishing
• swimming
• history
• psychology
• hitchhiking

Music, Movies, and Books

Yes, yes, and yes. Oh yes.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Too many to count... I'm only allowed one? The first that comes to mind right now is when I stood amongst the huge church bells of Amsterdam's Westerkerk tower while a friend, Boudewijn Zwart the carillonneur, was playing Elvis Presley songs on them

Teach, Learn, Share

I can share these skills:
- choosing/using Linux
- playing saxophone + mandolin
- dancing salsa
- maintaining a Citroen DS

I want to learn to:
- play guitar, double bass and piano better
- dance in 7/8 and other exotic time signatures
- cook simply but well

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Slovakia, Spain, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, Germany, Netherlands, Slovenia, United Kingdom