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Bine

About me

Hey, BineI’m Bine: nature lover, marine / environmental activist, diving instructor, science diver and crazy chick, all in one. I love to travel and to live in different places in our world. I enjoy the wonders of our nature above and under water just as much as the encounter with foreign people and cultures. For me travel and life is experience, to broaden the horizons and to protect our environment in the best possible way while doing so. As a diving instructor, I particularly care about the underwater world, after all, this is my home and something incredibly magical. Have you ever dove? Have you ever seen the glittering sunbeams plunging into the water while you’re 10m deep looking up to the surface of the water? Or have you had the chance to watch majestic bull sharks? Then you know what I mean. Already as a child and teen I loved to spend my free time in nature. Climbing, football or mountain biking – whatever it was, you could always find me somewhere out there in nature. The chirping of a bird, the warming sun on my face or the scent of the forest always filled my heart. This has remained to this day and the bond with nature has become even greater ever since. It has always been important to me to pay attention to the conservation and respect of our wonderful nature. At the same time, it was important for me to be free and to live my dreams.

When I finished my studies as a geoinformatics software engineer in 2015 and started working, I soon realized that being a bureaucratic worker did not satisfy me. Although I had a lot of flexibility in my job, all the sitting inside the building drove me crazy. After coming back from my first backpacking trip outside of Europe (Thailand), I began to ask myself more and more where my path should lead me. Is this office life really what I want to do for the rest of my life? I followed my heart and the quote I’m living with:

Live your dreams.

I could not forget how it felt to dive with Manta rays in Thailand, so I decided I want to become a professional diver. But the idea of doing the training in a dive shop was not enough for me at this time. It just seemed to be too selfish for me. Because of my love with nature, I decided to look for marine conservation projects instead. And that‘s how everything started. I found a suitable project in Mexico. The decision was made and after a year of preparation, selling (almost all) of my belongings and working, working and working in up to 5 different jobs at the same time to get all the necessary money, I left Germany in spring 2017 to go to Mexico. First, as a volunteer in the project, I lived there for 6 months in the middle of the jungle in more than simple conditions. We had no running water, no internet and just a little solar power. Beach CleanAlmost every day, we dove to protect the sea, collected data, did different trainings and got lectures. Of course, we also did a lot of beach cleans. I can tell you, having these experiences changes. I decided to quit my old job as a software engineer and stayed in the project as a team member. Hooked by all the diving and training of volunteers I decided to leave the camp a month earlier than planned. I went to the next city and became a diving instructor. After that, I stayed in a dive shop in Mexico for another 4 months, before moving on to Malta in spring of 2018. There we lived for over two years, even our daughter was born there. Currently, I’m working and living in Leipzig: as a web developer in my company it bienen web solutions developing sustainable website with a low carbon footprint, as well as a diving instructor in our diving school Just Leave Bubbles.

The impressions in Mexico Tauchlehrerhave changed me a lot and made me even more aware of how important it is to protect our environment. Due to my close connection to nature, I have had always a respectful and sustainable approach to my environment. No garbage was left in the forest, no plant damaged. But it took me until the end of 2016, just before I wanted to leave Germany, that for the first time I was dealing more consciously with sustainability and the consequences of my daily behaviour. Although I had already implemented small changes by then, the big turn came at this point. With the begin of the European Week of Waste Prevention 2016, I started a challenge: I didn‘t want to cause any plastic waste for 4 weeks. From 4 weeks, I expanded it to several months, until I left Germany. Since then, I try to live as garbage-saving, minimalistic and environmentally friendly as possible, no matter what country I am in. With my knowledge, I try to inspire and help other people because I am convinced that we can make a difference together. That‘s why besides tips and experiences from my travels and stays abroad I‘ll also inform you about sustainable travel on my blog. Additionally, I‘ll share advice, experiences and recipes how you generally can improve your environmental footprint – no matter what country you live in. Join me on a greener journey around the world where all of us can contribute to change and to preserve our wonderful nature. It is nature that gives us life. Nature lets us breathe. That’s why we have to protect and preserve it.

What makes this blog different?

There are various reasons why people start to follow a more sustainable way of life and travel. Some of them even report about their experiences. No matter the reason, every one of them is good and commendable. For me, it is my close connection to nature, which I can also express as a diving instructor. However, special in my case is that I have seen the consequences of our actions in different places in our world with my own eyes. Instead of just talking, I prefer to act and to make a difference. Cleanup DiveCleanups over and under water, the training of considerate divers or the dissemination of my knowledge are just a few examples of how I try to make a difference. I have seen how corals and our reefs suffer, what diseases they show, how much rubbish we can actually find underwater. Seeing the suffering of our nature motivated me even more to change something. I will continue to share my experiences with you, even when you‘re not a diver. You still will be able to get an insight into what‘s going on under the surface. I will give you useful tips to help you starting or continuing your way to a greener lifestyle. And yet, I will also show you wonderful corners of our earth at the same time.

Enjoy reading this blog. Do not hesitate to contact me via info@easygoing.guide if you have questions, feedback or any other concerns.

Together we can make a difference. 

Bine

Thailand valley