Johan completed his secondary education at the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwecollege in Ostend. From an early age he had a special interest in sciences and technology. He actually wanted to get a technical education.
After secondary education, he went to the Teacher Training College in Torhout. He chose the subjects geography, physics, chemistry and biology. At that time his interest was not so much in ‘field biology’, but in the how and why of everything: evolutionary biology, chemistry and the physical laws of the atom and the universe.
At the age of 21, he started teaching in a secondary school (Onze-Lieve-Vrouwecollege Assebroek in Bruges). A few years later he found his own way of working and thinking ‘rather theoretical’ and took a full course as a garage mechanic at the SNT in Bruges. There his bond with concrete material arose and a ‘forbidden childhood dream’ was fulfilled.
Cycling through the interior of Turkey from east to west with his wife Christine, was a real eye-opener for Johan in 2004. For the first time he had an intense contact with another culture. Especially the hospitality and cordiality of the people he met left a deep impression.
In 2006, when his own 4 children were independent, he went on a world tour with Christine. They drove through Turkey and Iran and northern Pakistan by car. Then thy crossed the border into the Uyghur area in China. They continued their journey by public transport to Beijing, later picked up their car again and went on to India and Nepal. By public transport they visited Thailand, Malaysia, the islands of Indonesia and South Australia. Then again by car via Pakistan, Iran and Turkey towards Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia to Kenya.
Deep contacts with people outside the European culture have changed me forever. I also noticed that the essence of the other world religions is the same as that of our Christian tradition.
Johan Germonpré
