CURRENT MISSION

Increasing the total amount of happiness in the world by a combination of hedonism and activism

ABOUT ME

I am a psychologist with a PhD on minority mental health. When I am off I like to spend a lot of time on couches in warmer places than the Netherlands. Hammocks are good too!

PHILOSOPHY

A combination of altruism and hedonism. First be happy yourself, and then spread this feeling to who you meet.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I surf, encourage other people to surf, host as many surfers as I can and show them Amsterdam if I have time. I am considering to leave CouchSurfing and do this through another network however, as the organization has changed in to FOR PROFIT after taking our donations and volunteer hours. See http://www.opencouchsurfing.org for more information on this issue.
See the Amsterdam meetup team's profile for lots of essential info about Amsterdam for CS-ers. http://www.couchsurfing.com/profile.html?id=2TKKD7F

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have found many people willing to help each other out during my travels. When hitchhiking I have met many interesting people, and on occasion people have taken me in when I was stranded somewhere. A couple of years ago I took a German girl home who had spent a night on the street because all hostels were full. Now there is hospitality exchange and hopefully eventually we'll never have to worry about getting stranded ever again.

Interests

Traveling, Marathon Running, Craigslist, Acting, Writing, Burlesque, Board Games, Wikipedia, Story Telling, Experimental Cooking, Strolling on the Boardwalk, Mingling, Performance Art, Festivals, Hitchhiking, Amsterdam, Brooklyn, World Music, Fresh Bread

• arts
• writing
• books
• performing arts
• acting
• festivals
• education
• dining
• cooking
• marathon
• running
• board games
• traveling
• music
• world music
• hiking
• teaching
• psychology
• hitchhiking
• volunteering

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: http://www.last.fm/user/the_MaGe/

Movies: O Homem Que Copiava, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Spirited Away, Together, Trainspotting, Simon, L'Auberge Espagnol, Amantes del Circulo Polar, Meglio Gioventu

Books: Lord of the Rings, Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy, A Tree grows in Brooklyn, On the Road, fiction and non-fiction involving local history.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

When I was 10 years old, my parents and I flew to New Delhi and we backpacked through Asia for a year. Hiking around Annapurna, visiting monasteries in Tibet, seeing where my mother was born in Indonesia... No year in school could I have learned that much. Precious.

Teach, Learn, Share

I'd like to learn to cook the food you grew up on. I could use some practice in Portuguese and Spanish. I am in training for my 4th NYC marathon and would love to explore your city while running (together?)

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, El Salvador, Finland, France, French Guiana, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Latvia, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, Norway, Palestine, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Suriname, Sweden, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

Netherlands, United States

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