CURRENT MISSION

No mission at the moment but I'm open to suggestions.

ABOUT ME

My father's Turkish and my mother's Californian, so I have two native languages: Turkish and English.

I was born and raised in Ankara but I also lived in Austin, TX for many years, when I did my PhD.

I am generally a quiet person around people I don't know well but more talkative when I get to know someone.

I like to pay attention to detail and I enjoy analyzing things. Sometimes I take this to extremes. :)

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I can't really host at the moment because I am staying with my parents.

I subscribe to groups and help people by answering their questions.

Sometimes I meet people for coffee/drinks, walking around or chatting.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

2010: I surfed with my old friend Güçlü, but I'm not sure that counts, since I've known him since forever!

2010-2011: I met Reza, who was walking(!) from Sweden to India, and surfing in Ankara in Fall/Winter 2010. We played go twice a week. I think we both improved a lot! Also met Xavier and Seda, who were hosting Reza and many other surfers.

2011: I met Enrico, walked around Ankara with him.

2012: Met up with Kathi a few times to help each other with German-Turkish language practice.

2013-2014: Met up with Eleanor several times to help her with modern Turkish and Ottoman Turkish.

2014: Met Soo Park who came to surf at Güçlü and Yukari's place where I was also staying. We spent
a few days going around Izmir together. Even took him to a wedding in Manisa-Muradiye.

2014: Went hiking in the Bavarian Alps and walked around Munich with Freddie.

2014: Surfed two nights in Antwerp in Stefan's home.

2014: Surfed three nights in Ghent in Patrick's home.

2014: Surfed one night in Brussels in Huriye's home and met some nice people at the Brussels Babel Polyglot Meeting.

2015: Met up with Stephan (and İhsan and Ezgi) to chat. (We spoke a little German too.)

Interests

Computer-related stuff, free software.
Soccer --- playing it, watching it and betting on it.
Languages. (By the way, my German isn't really at "expert" level, but I chose that because it's above intermediate.)

I used to love to read, and still enjoy it very much. However, for the last few years I've also begun to feel like reading fiction (my favorite) is a waste of my limited time, in a sense. Now I prefer to read technical/informational content, a lot of stuff online, though I also read some fiction. And for the last couple of years, I've been reading some German novels to improve my language skills.

• coffee
• walking
• drinking
• reading
• socializing
• hiking
• surfing
• soccer
• languages
• software

Teach, Learn, Share

I have a good memory and remember a lot of random interesting things that come up during conversations.

I can tell people about the idea of free software.

I enjoy talking about words and language structure, so I can help you with English, Turkish and German.

I'll be happy to have technical computer-related discussions, share knowledge I have and learn new stuff, if you have time and interest.

I can try to help you fix your computer. :)

I would like to improve at playing go, and I can teach the basics.

I would like to learn how to whistle real loud. This is a skill that I've noticed I need at the stadium!

I want to learn how to play a musical instrument. We have some instruments at home but I've lacked the discipline.

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Turkey, United Kingdom, United States

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