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LAST UPDATE: June 27, 2024

LOCATION: Shanghai

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I'm really bad at smiling "naturally" for the camera.
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我就是不上相（陆词：上镜）啊，沒辦法，請見諒
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Copy-paste requests are ***WELCOME***
(Sending personalized requests can definitely be time-consuming.)

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我目前在美國史丹佛（陆词：斯坦福）大學讀資工系（陆词：计算机专业）的學士學位（陆词：本科），不過我大一（2022-23）拿到了美國國務院的獎學金2023年6月去台灣上進階的中文課，然後下定決心接下來要休學出來長期旅行幾年，多看看世界，反正之後回去史丹佛全額獎學金一樣還在。

最近在中東、南亞、東南亞和東亞旅行了快一年，2024年5月決定回到上海落個腳，待個兩三年。

我是相當貧窮、教育資源比較薄弱社區出來的孩子，現在也沒原生家庭了，所以目前正在滿足自己的好奇心。

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I'm working on my bachelor's degree in computer science at Stanford University (in California), hoping to become the first in my family to earn a university degree after being the first in my family to have the opportunity to attend high school.

After my first year there, I was lucky enough to earn a separate scholarship from the U.S. Department of State (similar to the ministry of foreign affairs in many other countries) to study Chinese literature intensively for a summer in Taiwan.

At that point, I decided that I wanted to continue seeing more of the world before returning to school again someday--or just not returning to school at all if I find more interesting opportunities.

It might be easy to assume that, if I'm at a private university, I must have money, but my parents were factory workers who didn't speak English and did their best to raise us while helping our family back in Cuba. I would not be able to attend university without this full scholarship.

Today, I have no family left anywhere in the world, and my pathway through life is probably unusual, if not weird, to a lot of people.

Having grown up poor as part of a family of immigrants in the United States, I didn't have a lot of opportunities to travel to foreign countries as a younger person. When I was a kid, travel from the U.S. to Cuba was limited by both Cuban policy and U.S. policy, and my family could not afford frequent trips to Cuba, anyway, so I only saw my grandparents in Cuba twice before they passed.

That has always served as a reminder of the sort of impermanence that we often try to ignore for as long as we can.

Even as a child, though, I always wanted to see the world.

Since leaving California in the summer of 2022, I've done a fair amount of traveling and now I'm spending some time in Shanghai before continuing on the road, maybe together with someone else this time if I find someone who wants to travel with me.

My scholarship will always be there for me if I ever I return to school, and, as someone fortunate enough to not have anyone depending on me financially, I'm just living in pursuit of satisfying my own curiosity while trying to do good things in the world.

When I'm on the road, I aim to travel as slowly as possible because what is important is *not* the *number* of places you visit but instead what you actually experience, observe, and contribute while you are there.

I'm just not very careerist. I don't care about job titles--mine nor yours.

When I make decisions, I typically consider the "So, what?"

"What does this mean in the grand scheme of things?"

(I do as much of that as I can without making my head explode.)

Would I be happier if I made all of my decisions based on what society expected of me? Yeah, maybe.

Do I feel extremely privileged to have been born and raised in a country with a relatively strong economy? Yes. I've also chosen to live most of my life outside the U.S. because, while I do think that big cities (and some smaller places) in the U.S. are culturally quite vibrant, I'm too curious to settle long-term in a place so familiar.

But I'm willing to take my chances with whatever else the world might have to offer.

I've spent most of my adulthood between these cities:
🇺🇸 New York
🇫🇷 Paris
🇦🇺 Melbourne
🇹🇼 Taipei
🇨🇳 Shanghai

...and shorter periods (months, not years) in:
🇮🇳 India
🇹🇭 Thailand
🇯🇵 Japan
🇭🇰 Hong Kong
🇲🇽 Mexico
🇧🇪 Belgium
🇹🇷 Turkiye

我畢業之後可能會在亞洲發展，以後看看生活型態再決定。

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I enjoy having people share with me ideas that I've never considered.

Interests

• costco

Music, Movies, and Books

老王樂隊
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCQnAxrkTUc
B站:
https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1CJ411379h/?spm_id_from=333.788.recommend_more_video.-1

告五人
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6D79CYTxvOM
B站:
https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1bP411V7EY/?spm_id_from=333.337.search-card.all.click

蘇打綠
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NA4otP-v6iI
B站:
https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1UJ411T728/?spm_id_from=333.337.search-card.all.click

張懸
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cstTwePsmGg
B站:
https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1dF4m1V7Z6/?spm_id_from=333.337.search-card.all.click

陈粒
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQmT3e4IGy4
B站:
https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1at4y1Y7Kr/?spm_id_from=333.337.search-card.all.click

宋冬野
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsSfrHFKqH0
B站:
https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1Ex411A7vz/?spm_id_from=333.337.search-card.all.click

李宗盛
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3k9PhyNEto
B站:
https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1UU4y1D79x/?spm_id_from=333.337.search-card.all.click

田馥甄
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCgvpwLNvtY
B站:
https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1QL4y1t7z4/?spm_id_from=333.337.search-card.all.click

好樂團
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNJG6MsKO0k
B站:
https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1oD4y1m7Ex/?spm_id_from=333.337.search-card.all.click

怕胖團
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlRSJNHS40s
B站:
https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1jJ411b7we/?spm_id_from=333.337.search-card.all.click

原子邦妮
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-hy9MswmcA&list=RDEMCBjICbRQ6IZlRb1zP4l7iw&start_radio=1
B站:
https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1iZ4y1j7S1/?spm_id_from=333.337.search-card.all.click

Bad Bunny
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJ5zaQ2YI6g
B站:
https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1gt4y1p74t/?spm_id_from=333.337.search-card.all.click

Maluma
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pK060iUFWXg
B站:
https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1EA411Y7Yj/?spm_id_from=333.337.search-card.all.click

Joni Mitchell
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6tlDUqRMUo
B站:
https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1Q3411R7EJ/?spm_id_from=333.337.search-card.all.click

Radiohead
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFkzRNyygfk
B站:
https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1CN4y1Q7hC/

Fleetwood Mac
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WM7-PYtXtJM
B站:
https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1os411c7MG/?spm_id_from=333.337.search-card.all.click

Beirut
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R781LDKOVJE
B站:
https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1tx411i7dM/?spm_id_from=333.337.search-card.all.click

Manu Chao
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b22wgo919FM
B站:
https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1Ma4y1c7gW/?spm_id_from=333.337.search-card.all.click

sapientdream
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNa1n6Gch7E
B站:
https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1z64y1h7au/?spm_id_from=333.337.search-card.all.click

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I've helped people from under-resourced communities reach higher and pursue their passions.

However, as far as travel is concerned, I think I should mention that I really don't travel for the amazing. I travel mostly just to better understand the ordinary. Understanding what everyday life is like for people in different corners of the world makes me feel more connected to humanity. This feeling matters more to me than having a big house, a fancy car, or an impressive job title. It also matters to me more than diving the Great Barrier Reef or seeing the aurora borealis.

Teach, Learn, Share

I am so so bad at most things but very willing to teach the few things I understand well.

I used to cook for large groups of people, but I just don't enjoy the concentration it involves to make sure everything tastes great. I wish I could say I'd make some amazing meal for us to share, but, when I cook, I tend to focus more on the conversation and less on how the food turns out. Can I just take you out to dinner instead of cooking at home?

If you want to speak in another language, let's do it! Right now, I only speak English, Spanish, French, and Mandarin, but, really, if you want to speak a language other than English, I'm totally totally down. I have nothing against English: I do think it's great that one language is allowing so many people across the world to communicate seamlessly (even before AI allows it).

However, I do enjoy hearing people express themselves in other languages, especially their own native tongues (when I understand them---and sometimes I enjoy it even if I don't understand what they're saying).

What I Can Share with Hosts

I enjoy good stories, and I pack my own with me when I travel.

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, China, Croatia, Cuba, Denmark, Egypt, England, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kosovo, Laos, Lebanon, Macao, Malaysia, Mexico, Montenegro, Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, China, France, Taiwan, United States