CURRENT MISSION

live, laugh, love, learn - & go wherever the wind takes me!

ABOUT ME

In a very condensed nutshell, I am a byproduct of globalization. My very first memory is in Dubai, before relocating to the Philippines, then moving to Quebec, Canada and finally landing in Switzerland. Top it off with a love for travel and cultural discovery... and there you have it. Me. A mosaic of little bits and pieces from places I've lived and places I've visited, even for a short time.

I'm cheerful and a goofball by nature. I am blessed to have a knack for easy conversation and love to use it to meet new people. I love talking about most topics under the sun. The best part of it all is the exchange that happens between people, the moment when strangers stop being strangers.

Not one to be embarrassed easy, I can be spontaneous and be always up to try something new. From experience, this all makes a great recipe for crazy, random and memorable stories. Though as chatty and loud as I can be, I also deeply enjoy moments of solitude - to write, read, contemplate, meditate.

PHILOSOPHY

living in the present moment with everything that I have.

***

" Pour ne pas etre pas les esclaves martyrises du Temps,
enivrez-vous;
enivrez-vous sans cesse!
De vin, de poesie ou de vertu, a votre guise. "

-- Charles Baudelaire

***

"“ Man surprised me most about humanity. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived. "

-- Dalai Lama XIV

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

This experience is all new, but I am planning to participate in CS Monthly Meetings here in Lausanne and participate in other activities. I am considering opening my couch to other surfers, but still working out the details on that (my studio is 20 m2...). For now, I am willing to show people visiting around town, at least!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Couchsurfed once in Copenhagen, would definitely do it again in a future trip! Opening my couch to CSers as soon as I get back home long enough to have a regular schedule. Met tons of CSers during my travels.

Interests

Reading. Writing. Good talks over a bottle of wine, beer or coffee. Photography. Graphic design. Travelling (this is pretty obvious). Philosophy. Art. Music. Skiing. Hiking. Biking. Yoga. Meditation. Spirituality. Being lost somewhere. Architecture. Chocolate - and lots of it.

And last but not the least...
FOOOOD! (my travel often centers around food experiences)

• arts
• writing
• singing
• architecture
• design
• graphic design
• photography
• dining
• cooking
• chocolate
• wine
• beer
• coffee
• yoga
• working out
• meditation
• reading
• traveling
• music
• cycling
• hiking
• backpacking
• skiing
• paragliding
• languages

Music, Movies, and Books

My tastes are pretty nondescript, my likes too widely varied in range. And I'm always up to learning new things. Still, here's a sampling of what I enjoy(ed):

MOVIES/DOCUMENTARIES: Awakenings, The Green Mile, The Shawshank Redemption, Star Wars Series, Forrest Gump, LOTR, Inglorious Basterds, Fargo, The Notebook, Good Will Hunting, Groundhog Day, The Corporation, Bowling for Columbine, Black Swan, Mystic River...

MUSIC: I go more by types - indie, indie/folk, rock, jazz, alt. rock, classical, opera.

BOOKS: Sum (an extraordinary book). Le Parfum. Harry Potter. LOTR & The Hobbit. The Book of Negroes. 1984. Animal Farm. The Millenium Trilogy. Catcher in the Rye. Aliss. The Kite Runner. Et mon tout est un homme. The Book Thief. Of Mice and Men. Fahrenheit 451. Flowers for Algernon. L'ami retrouvé. The Great Gatsby. Wicked. (and the list goes on...)

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Tied for first place: Packing up my things in boxes and moving to Switzerland, and my five-week solo backpacking trek in Europe.

Tied for second place: The Spartan Race (so far, never done anything so physically difficult in my life and lived to tell the tale) & paragliding over Ölüdeniz.

Teach, Learn, Share

Amongst other things..
TEACH: Languages (English, French) and a CPR crash course (hint: ironically, singing "Staying Alive" by the Bee Gees in your head helps - true story).
LEARN: Practice Spanish & the basics of any language, learn to cook the local cuisine of where I visit.
SHARE: Swiss Chocolates and multiple random anecdotes.

Countries I’ve Visited

France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, United States, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, Philippines, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates

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