www.instagram.com/shaunpat.co
www.instagram.com/senzual.co

Please check out my new photography project, designed to inspire women of all colors, sizes, shapes, and styles!
www.senzual.co

My travel and street photography website:
www.zeferfoto.com

My portrait photography website:
www.VOAphoto.com

CURRENT MISSION

To explore the world and learn about everyone's culture in order to make myself a better person!

ABOUT ME

I was born and raised in Texas. However, my grandparents are from Cali, Colombia and my mother lived there when she was a young girl so I have some strong Colombian roots.

July - Oct 2008: Studied abroad in Paris & Munchen (Munich) and then traveled throughout most of Western Europe.

Sep - Nov 2009: Studied Spanish in Buenos Aires, Argentina while living with an Argentinian host family.

Nov 2009 - Mar 2010: Moved to Colombia to continue my Spanish studies and to live with my cousins in order to better understand where my family came from.

Aug 2011: I moved to Medellín, Colombia in order to spend some time in my favorite country. My original plan was to stay for one year and learn Spanish. Instead, I ended up staying! I have worked on many different projects throughout my 11 years here and have enjoyed every bit of it.

I love photography and have photographed many countries throughout Europe and the Americas. I love traveling and meeting people from all around the world!

Traveling has truly changed my life. I have become a much more well-rounded and cultured person. I feel that I am able to blend in with many cultures and understand people empathetically and deeper than before. It has truly opened my mind. I grew up in a very conservative culture but today I am open-minded about everything and welcome all new experiences! The crazier and more interesting, the better!

PHILOSOPHY

”A man must travel. By his own, not through stories, pictures, books or TV. He’s got to travel by himself, with his eyes and feet, to understand what is his. To one day plant his own trees and value them. Knowing the cold to enjoy the heat. And the opposite. Feel the distance and absence of shelter to be well under his own roof. A man must travel to places that he does not know to break this arrogance that makes us see the world as we imagine it, and not simply as it is or can be. That makes us teachers and doctors of what we have not seen, when we should be students, and simply go see.”

– Amyr Klink

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

At the moment I am living and working in Medellín, Colombia. I have a private bedroom with a double bed and private bathroom (it is not connected to the room but it is right next door to it) that I rent out on Airbnb, but when I don't have anyone staying, I am happy to have travelers stay and enjoy a free night or two of travel while exchanging travel stories with each other over a glass of wine! Let the crazy stories begin!

When requesting to stay with me, please write to me in a personal way telling me about your trip/plans, and why you are interested in staying with me. Thank you!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

The CS community has treated me very well. I have gone to some fun meet ups, have hosted many people from different continents, and have surfed only a little bit. However, I need to start surfing more! Watch out world, here I come!

Interests

Photography, reading, dancing (mainly salsa and tango), learning languages (mainly Spanish), movies, music (all types), and traveling!

• culture
• books
• photography
• dancing
• wine
• trivia
• movies
• reading
• traveling
• socializing
• music
• cycling
• business
• languages
• beaches
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: Marc Anthony / Brooklyn Duo / Gavin Mikhail / Alter Bridge / Fonseca / Rhys Lewis... to name a few.

Movies: Inception / The Greatest Showman / Rudy / The Natural / Moulin Rouge / A Star is Born

Books: Dan Brown Novels / The Mother Tongue / Rich Dad, Poor Dad / The Art of Non-Conformity / The War of Art

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

- Parasailing off the Alpine mountains in Germany. Seeing Machu Picchu.
- Being on top of the Eiffel Tower.
- Horse back riding in: the Valle de Cocora in Colombia, Bariloche, Argentina, & along the Andes Mountains in Mendoza, Argentina.
- Learned casino salsa (cuban) from a Venezuelan while living in Colombia. 
- Went to the highest point of the Alpine Mountains in Switzerland.
- Photographed an Adidas new clothing line launch party in Colombia.
- Photographed a wedding on the beach in the Bahamas.
- Been stuck as an illegal between Panamá & Colombia at the same time with no country to legally enter.
- Started my own photography business in Colombia.
- Flew over the Nazca Lines in Peru.
- Made it to the top of a 14,000 foot volcano (the Nevado del Ruiz) in Colombia.
- Visited the second deepest canyon in the world in Colombia.

Teach, Learn, Share

I would love to give back to the CS community. I am happy to meet for drinks and/or host travelers and teach them about my (adopted home) Medellin, Colombia! After 11 years of living here, I feel that I am truly an expert. If anyone ever wants to learn English, I would be happy to teach them. I also have a huge passion for photography and would love to share it with anyone that would like to learn more about the field.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Bahamas, Belgium, Colombia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, Panama, Peru, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

Argentina, Colombia, United States

•