Hi! My name is Elmar or you may also call me Juan Miguel. I am working as a college lecturer and I have little knowledge for massage healing therapy. When I was a kid, I would keep on looking the world flags every single time, I would never thought of being a traveler and making it so far to so many beautiful cities, counties, villages and landmarks. My simple wish when I was 8 years old; to have a Nintendo game boy so I can play Super Mario but we didn't have means so instead of complaining I studied hard, I worked hard and prayed hard.

I'm a simple young chap who grew up in a rural village five hours away from the capital city, Manila. I always appreciate simple things in life: pure-cold-yummy cheesecakes, pizza over hamburgers, economy airplane rides window seat, self-help books, History and Culture, action movies, Frappe breaks, free smiles coming from a strangers, a Friday night country music and curry soup.

Through this platform, I would like to meet friends and build connection with them like a brother and a sister. I am a strong believer that we create our own lives and we should know our purpose. Life is too short. We should love and respect one another regardless of faith, gender orientation, race, color and cultural identities. We must not associate ourselves from junk culture and 'love of material things' philosophy that this society has created. Love people and use things because the opposite never works. Do things that will make us happy so long as we are not hurting anyone and we should always put values on what is really important in this life.

Be free! We have one life to live. LIVE IT!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

To get to understand local cultures and traditions, meet kind souls with beautiful hearts, and who can inspire me to be better in life and also I can share to them whatever I have to make them comfortable while staying in our place.

Interests

Traditional Massage & Mint Tea

• cultural immersion
• massage
• dark chocolate
• broadway

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: Taken, Mission Impossible, Lorenzo's Oil, Les Miserables, Life is Beautiful, Spanglish, Schindler's List, Grave of the Fireflies, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Apocalypto, Titanic, Escape Plan, To Kill a Mockingbird, Ratatouille, Gladiator, La Case de Papel (Netflix), Prison Break (Netflix), Goodbye Mr. Chips

Music: Jack Johnson, Cold Play, The Smiths, Billy Joel, Secret Garden, Bella Ciao

Books: History, Lonely Planet, Maxwell 5 Levels of Leadership. Self-help books, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, Into the Wild, Tuesdays with Morrie, The Little Prince, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Story of My Life by Helen Keller, The Diary of Anne Frank

Theater Productions: Evita, Lion King, Miss Saigon, Les Miserables, The Fantasticks, Singin' in the Rain, West Side Story, Carousel, Hair, Cats, Matchmaker

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I played Holi (Colour Festival) in Kolkata, India!! It was a very enriching experience.
Standing on History at some ancient cities - Jericho (Palestine), Izmir (Turkey), Giza (Egypt)
Floating on the salty Dead Sea (Israel)
Enraptured by the glorious landscapes of Jalalabad, Osh, Talas Kyrgyzstan on encumbering clothes (5 layers)
Motorcycle adventure at Bagan UNESCO World Heritage (Bagan, Myanmar)
Putting effort, dedication and love for Russian and Spanish Language. [xopowo] [muy bien] (Tashkent, Tajikistan) (Manila, Philippines)
Extreme Roller Coaster Ride at Mount Fuji, Japan
Cried a pale of tears at the Genocide Memorial (Kigali, Rwanda) and Holocaust Museum at Yad Vashem Jerusalem
Africa Safari Adventure at Masai Mara Game Reserve (Narok County, Kenya)
Showing my dance moves at the streets of Kampala, Uganda (UG)
One-day Food Trip Challenge & The Search for the Best Milk Tea (Taipei, Taiwan)
Turkish Bath in Nablus, Palestine and Khmer Traditional Massage (Siem Riep, Cambodia)
Climbed to the Peak of the Great Wall (China)
Downing two spicy chicken rice in Jakarta, Indonesia
Soviet Republic Mud Traditional Sauna (Jalalabad, Kyrgyzstan)

Teach, Learn, Share

Volunteer work. International Relations. Cultural Research. Food Trip. Learn Spanish. Teach English

What I Can Share with Hosts

Story telling. Chicken Adobo. Soft bed and pillows. Genuine Smile, brotherhood, hospitality, cheesecake, souvenirs, mangoes, lonely planet books, I can take you to the beach, Filipino hospitality and pinoy culture

Countries I’ve Visited

Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lithuania, Macao, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar, Netherlands, Palestine, Peru, Portugal, Qatar, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Serbia, Singapore, South Korea, South Sudan, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vatican City State, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Egypt, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco, Philippines, Spain, Viet Nam