I’m getting old and I enjoy it! When I was in my teenage years and in my early 20’s, I wanted to be an epic Russian writer or a 19th century sailor writing about Hong Kong’s brothels and opium dens in his to-be-published-after-his-death diary. I also considered founding my own state. Unfortunately, I failed all of those objectives miserably.

Now, I just aspire to become some kind of Buddhist monk or a wandering Yogi in a fairly distant future. I mostly dedicate my life to become less ignorant every day and I try to replace partying until 7am with meditation and yoga. Life ain’t bad, can’t complain!

Since you’re here, there is this joke I got from talking to random people on the streets in India: “What were the dying dogs wandering the streets in their previous life?” Figure it out and gimme your best guess when we meet! 😉

PHILOSOPHY

The world would be a better place if everyone read Rumi. There you go ;)

The Guest House

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice.
meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.

Be grateful for whatever comes.
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Sharing is life mate

Interests

Hm... usually I like pretty much:

Facing the horizon in remote and deserted places like the Himalayas. A fine way to grasp the concept of vacuity and realize how absurd modern life can be!😊

Appart from that, I also enjoy:

Yoga
Cooking and eating (!!!)
Vegetarian cuisine
Taoism and Buddhism
Philosophy/anthropology
Economics/geopolitics
Sufism
Reading
Ayurveda, Chinese medicine, nutrition and health topics related to longevity
Fasting
Independent movies
Learning languages (Chinese, Arabic and Russian are interesting)
Music (Western, Middle Eastern and Indian classical stuff and blues, Western and Ethiopian jazz, klezmer, folk, flamenco, funk, trip-hop, rock - from Motorhead to Radiohead - and Mongol, Soviet/Russian, Balkan, Cuban, Mexican, Ottoman/Turkish, Sufi, Caucasian and Persian stuff)
East, Central, South, South-East and Western Asian cultures and history
Asian countries in general from the land of Islam to the land of Confucius, former Soviet countries included
The complexities of identities
Learning about religions and different intellectual traditions
Asking stupid questions and learn
Deconstructing reality to see what's behind
Bombed or abandoned towns or buildings
Listening to crazy stories from guerrilleros or from gold miners in the jungle
Extending my awareness

Music, Movies, and Books

Not a big fan of commercial stuff, I enjoy when a person leaves a part of his soul in his art. I'm always up for any good independent movie, be it Mexican, Chinese, Russian, Romanian, Québécois, German… The Chinese Farewell My Concubine, the Turkish-German The Edge of Heaven, the Russian Leviathan, The Québécois Incendies, the Mexican El Infierno are all masterpieces.

Unfortunately, these last years I spent my time reading thousands of pages of academic stuff. Interesting but a little bland at times. I have something for Russian literature. Dostoievsky is an absolute master, Gogol, Turgeniev, Tolstoy, Solzhenitsyn are great! French Classics are nice especially the wicked ones like Baudelaire, Rimbaud, Huysman, Céline. Although Malraux and Cendrars aren’t very fucked up, they’re cool too! Those dirty and dusty American writers such as Kerouac, Bukowski, Fante are nice. Good old US writers like Hemingway or Steinbeck are very nice too. I enjoy Kafka and Taoist philosophers such as Laozi and Zhuangzi. I also enjoy Western philosophy but I sometimes think that some authors would gain some wisdom from conducting comparative research on Western and Eastern philosophy. These days I wanna learn more about South Asian philosophy, chakras and meditation so I’ll do that after I’m done with my academic stuff!

About music, here are two quotes of Confucius that sum it up pretty well
“Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without.”
“If one should desire to know whether a kingdom is well governed, if its morals are good or bad, the quality of its music will furnish the answer.”

Plus I have something for Dead Can Dance

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Oh a bunch of stories involving paramilitaries, former guerrilleros, wise cavemen, nomads, yurts, jungles, mountain passes, bombed cities, gold miners, volcanoes, sulfer miners, a few bombs, many Kalashnikovs, countries that don’t exist, mafia, former Red Army officers. So ask and you shall receive.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can listen and talk

Have a laugh

Have a beer, have a tea

Teach you a few tricks to survive the slums in Latin America, to survive the winter in Canada or to understand China so you don’t end up being a depressed, frustrated and alcoholic expat (China is full of them!)

What I Can Share with Hosts

I'll probably be smiling! It is not that common in some countries!

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Belize, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, El Salvador, French Guiana, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Macao, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Poland, Qatar, Serbia, Singapore, Suriname, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Venezuela, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, France, Georgia, Hong Kong, Mexico

• 

•