Verified
Raleigh, North Carolina, United States
@BRAINSURGERY33
Member since 2006
Next trips: Sweden and Balkans July 26-Aug 12. Italy Sept 19-Oct 7. Accepting invitations to distant lands! ABOUT ME I grew up in Bogota, Colombia but moved to the US in 1998. I lived in Orlando, Atlanta, Birmingham, Mobile, Durham (NC), Charleston (SC) and now I live in Raleigh, NC. I love traveling and meeting lots of people from diverse backgrounds. PHILOSOPHY Carpe Diem et Carpe Noctem!!! Do onto others as you wish they'd do onto you. Work hard and play even harder. I enjoy the small things in life. I try to take a trip whenever I have some time off. I am frugal on my daily life so I can do the things that really matter to me (like traveling). "To argue with a man who has renounced the use and authority of reason, and whose philosophy consists in holding humanity in contempt, is like administering medicine to the dead, or endeavoring to convert an atheist by scripture." Thomas Paine, The American Crisis
Interested in Board games
Fluent in English
Learning Arabic
Pioneer Badge
Why I'm on Couchsurfing
HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING I've been a member since 2006 and have served as a city ambassador in Mobile, AL for a couple of years and as a city ambassador in Durham, NC. I enjoy meeting travelers who are in the area and also hanging out with locals in different planned events. COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE Toon- Leuven, Belgium Bram and Nele- Gent, Belgium Jean-Sébastien & Stéphanie - Paris, France Henri- The Hague, Netherlands Mathias- Zurich, Switzerland Gianluca & Claudia- Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro Vanessa- Sao Paulo, Brazil Yara- Sao Paulo, Brazil Alberto- Sao Paulo, Brazil Darryl- New Orleans, USA Murat- Istanbul, Turkey Jens- Zurich, Switzerland Csaba and Zsofia- Budapest, Hungary Davy- Ljubljana, Slovenia Ana- Zagreb, Croatia Maria- Athens, Greece Murat- Istanbul, Turkey Ben- Winston-Salem, USA Philip- New Orleans, USA Richey- Birmingham, USA Nathan- Knoxville, USA Sara and Rob- Chapel Hill, USA Kelly & Colin Moore- Orlando, USA Max & Katie- Boynton Beach, USA Larry & Melinda Chen- Miami Beach, USA Vlad Pescu- Gainesville, FL, USA Bill & Kate Brown- Nashville, USA -Hosted Gianluca & Claudia from Niteroi, Brazil. Eser Cabaroglu- Samandag, Hatay, Turkey Salvatore Paolo de Rosa- Gaziantep, Turkey Sarah Scheitler- Washington DC, USA -Hosted Ecco (Yang)from China/USA JP and Nancy Lahaise- Montreal, Canada -Hosted Eser Cabaroglu from Turkey Nero Andersen- Oslo, Norway Valeria Lacinova- Riga, Latvia Ausra Lapyte- Vilnius, Lithuania Jarkko Kinnunen- Helsinki (Vantaa), Finland Martina Fields- Norfolk, VA USA Ward Lassoe- Charleston, NC USA Josephine- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (did not stay overnight) Anar Sabit- Shanghai, China Kuniaki Tokura- Singapore Gianluca & Claudia- Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro (again) Eser Cabaroglu-Istanbul, Turkey (again) Mark Wilkerson- Nashville, TN USA -Hosted Andreas Laforce Otto from Denmark Randy Marks- Takoma Park, MD USA Gontran Aljure- Chapel Hill, NC USA Antonio Chs- Quebec City, QC Canada Tania and Dima- Charleston, SC USA -Hosted Cris Rocha from Mozambique -Hosted Magda from Poland -Hosted Wingho Liu from Duluth, GA USA -Hosted Lynn from Montgomery, AL USA -Hosted Siddharth Sareen from Bergen, Norway -Hosted Marcos Falcone from Buenos Aires, Argentina -Hosted Deborah Giordano from Rimini, Italy -Hosted Marine Delforge (+1) from Quebec, Canada (France) -Hosted Larissa and Mariella from Germany -Hosted Margunn Almli from Bergen, Norway -Hosted Micah Goldblum (+2) from College Park, MD -Hosted Filip Dechterenko from Jihlava, Czech Republic -Hosted Valeriya (Russia) from Wilmington, NC USA Valeriya Martynova- Vladivostok, Russia -Hosted Marjolein Roeke (+2) Netherlands -Hosted Maria Alejandra Bruno, Anto Bruno, and Jeronimo Maina de Cordoba, Argentina -Hosted Tony and Pieta- Christchurch, New Zealand Farid A- Quito, Ecuador Omar Cossio Heller- Quito, Ecuador -Hosted Ivan Stobert from Atlanta, GA (Moldova) -Hosted Cheri Isabella a nomad (from Florida) Rob Howe- Madrid, Spain Antonio Martin- Salamanca, Spain Ivan Aranda- Seville, Spain Pablo Bosch- Cadiz, Spain Charlotte Leslie- Linea de Concepcion, Spain Carlos Rivob- Aldaia (Valencia), Spain Jordi Soler- Bacelona, Spain -Hosted Inti Orozco from Brussels, Belgium -Hosted Josh Blanchard from Marrero, LA Ayleen- Barranquilla, Colombia Lisa and Michael- Santa Barbara, CA -Hosted Justin Simpson from Madison, WI -Hosted Paula from Kentucky/Arizona -Hosted Daniel from Toronto, Ontario, Canada -Hosted Mark and Donnovan, from Columbus, OH -Hosted Eglė and Osvaldas from Cambridge, MA (Lithuania) I have only had great experiences, but the best ones have been when I have met many people through my hosts; Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Ljubljana, Gent, Orlando, Kuala Lumpur and Hatay jump to mind.
Music, Movies, and Books
Music: I absolutely love music. I learned English by learning the lyrics to my favorite songs. I know a little Italian because I listen to Opera, I am learning German because I found a German musical and I can't stop listening to it. I love anything by Jim Steinman, Meat Loaf, Queen and especially Freddie Mercury. Movies: The Shawshank Redemption, Love Actually, Crash, Immortal Beloved, American Pie, Deep Impact, Pay it Forward, And The Band Played On. Books: Plato's Apology, Brain Longevity, Rich Dad Poor Dad. I don't really read much, but if I read I want to derive some benefit from my reading.
One Amazing Thing I've Done
I have delivered babies. I have met the most amazing people though my travels and I have learned to adapt to just about any situation.
Teach, Learn, Share
The main purpose of my trips is to create long-lasting friendships and to meet cousins around the world. I’ve met 1009 cousins in person in as remote places (from our origin) as Australia and Emirates. I've stayed in touch with many of my hosts and I enjoy talking to them and plan to meet them later in life. I have met many foreigners in the USA and have visited them in their countries later. "Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school." Albert Einstein "A human being is a part of a whole, called by us _universe_, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest... a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty." Albert Einstein
What I Can Share With Hosts
I can teach Spanish, and some medical related things. I love board games and other geeky things. I am always up for talking about similarities and differences in education, health, economics, and politics between two countries.
My Interests
I cherish diversity. I really enjoy traveling, but I like to travel off the beaten path. I like to see the places I visit from the eyes of the natives. There is a lot to learn from others. I can't live without music and I enjoy listening to music that I cannot understand; I prefer soft music.
