Hello,

I'm Alexandre Taschereau. I'm 23 years old, half Mexican & half Canadian. I love travelling and will be heading to Europe for a second time soon.

I recently graduated from university studying political science, economics and philosophy. I love most sports, partying, reading and dogs.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I recently graduated from university while working full-time, so to celebrate I am taking a 6month trip accross Europe with my best-friend with the savings I managed to put aside. The idea is to land and Madrid in July and reach Istanbul for New Year's Eve.

We will be buying a car and sleeping either in it or in our tents. However, we'd love to meet locals wherever we go, even if its just to show us around. If they also want to host us we'd be delighted. We are also bringing bycicles with us to make touring cities more fun.

I'm going into this trip with lots of enthusiasm and few expectations. The route will be decided as we go along, but we will keep a very basic timetable to make sure we visit most countries we want to visit.

We are travelling on a very limited budget, our money will be practically all spent on gas and food exclusively. So unfortunately the nights at the pub will be limited, and the beer drunk with great thirst...

Interests

I am really interested in international politics and economics. So during my free time I'll sometimes read news or analysis.

I love to be physically active, particularly bicycling and swimming. I love all sports though. I used to play paintball in a team, and will probably join another one when my trip is done.

I also play the drums albeit not that well yet.

• dogs
• culture
• dining
• recipes
• beer
• partying
• pub crawls
• paintball
• politics
• news
• reading
• traveling
• drums
• paintballing
• scuba diving
• sports
• swimming
• economics
• languages
• political science
• science

Music, Movies, and Books

If I had to choose three genres of music it would be hard-rock, jazz and blues. My favorite band is Led Zeppelin (honestly, who else?), although having grown up in Mexico there are a lot of Mexican bands that I love. Check out Rodrigo y Gabriela if you are curious.

Its hard to pick a favourite book but it would probably be Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck. I also love My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrel and 100 Years of Solitude by Gael Garcia Marquez.

My favourite movies are comedies. I'm picky with them, but when I find one I'll laugh like a madman. Its embarrassing, really. It doesn't even have to be "good", it just has to tickle my funny-bone. Burn After Reading and Leaves of Grass are good examples.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I went scuba-diving in the Caribbean once. That was amazing.

Teach, Learn, Share

Not sure what I'm suppsosed to answer here. I speak 3 languages fluently so I guess I could help you with your French, Spanish or English. I'm also a pretty good swimmer and an avid paintballer, so I can teach you some of that too?

What I Can Share with Hosts

Hmmm.... I will certainly be buying food and alcohol throughout Europe, so I'd be happy to share with you something I've brought from abroad.

I can also share some Mexican recipes, teach you how to make home-made hot-sauce, and most importantly, teach you how to deal with a burning tongue efficiently. Warning, food will taste bland once you learn to love peppers.

I can also share my enthusiasm and help you revisit your city and discover what's hidden in unknown neighborhoods. I'm not particularly interested in the tourist spots, I want to check out the local culture and people.

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Mexico, Netherlands

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, Mexico