CURRENT MISSION

brazil

ABOUT ME

I'm currently living in Santiago, Chile, teaching English, and I've been here since January 2010.I taught English in Cuenca, Ecuador from September 2008 to December 2009, learning Spanish and drinking in the culture. I spent August and September of 2009 traveling through South America, and it was really incredible. Ahora vivo en Santiago de Chile, enseñando en un instituto de ingles. Vivo aca desde enero de 2010. Enseñé inglés en Cuenca, Ecuador desde el septiembre de 2008 hasta deciembre de 2009. Aprendí castellano y disfruté de la cultura. Pasé el agosto y septiembre de 2009 en un viaje por sud america, de verdad era increible. I traveled through Peru, Chile, Argentina, and stayed with my buddy in Paraguay for 3 weeks. Everywhere I went I wanted to stay, the people were amazing, and my Spanish really came in handy. I really liked Santiago, Chile as I was passing through, so here I am again, this time somewhat permanently.I'd say I'm passionate about music and literature foremost, but I'm also interested in languages, particularly Spanish, Philosophy, Politics, you name it.I've spent a good amount of my free time in Ecuador making hip hop and electronic music, and even DJing a little bit on the side. I have a youtube channel and a website for my music.Viajé por Peru, Chile, Argentina, y me quedé con mi compañero en Paraguay 3 semanas. En todos lugares me queria quedar, la gente eran amables y muy abiertas, y mi castellano era muy util. Me gusto mucho Santiago de Chile cuando pasaba, entonces, aqui estoy de nuevo, esta vez para vivir. Diria que soy apasionado por la musica y la literatura, pero tambien me interesa los linguajes (especialmente espanol), la filosofia, la politica, y lo que sea. Paso mucho de mi tiempo haciendo instrumentales de hip hop y electronica, tambien DJ un poco. Tengo un canal de youtube y un sitio de web para mi musica.

PHILOSOPHY

Wwe can learn something new from everyone we meet, and that creativity is one of the most important ways we have of being human.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Couchsurfing has changed (and is changing) my life. What a great idea.Couchsurfing ha cambiado mi vida. Que buena idea.

Interests

Music, literature, writing, and creativity top my list. I especially love talking about music and books - why you like a certain song, what works and doesn't work in a given novel, that sort of thing. La musica, la literatura, , la escritura, y la creatividad, son los mas importantes para mi. Especialmente me gusta hablar de la musica y los libros - porque me gusta una cansion en particular, que funciona y no funciona en una novela, cosas asi.

• culture
• writing
• books
• literature
• drinking
• politics
• traveling
• music
• electronic music
• languages

Music, Movies, and Books

--MUSIC--I am very into electronic music (particularly dubstep), hip hop, hip hop instrumentals, as well as the indie rock scene. I would make a hard distinction between "electronic" music and "dance" music. I like both, but do not prefer "dance" music, which is often insipid, repeated over and over in clubs, and lacks originality.With that in mind, electronic artists I like include Burial, Modeselektor, Skream, Siriusmo, Ratatat, Disrupt, Paul Kalkbrenner, Four Tet and Harmonic 313 among many, many others.Good hip hop instrumental artists: Flying Lotus, Madlib, DJ Krush, DJ Shadow, Cut Chemist, Dabrye, RJD2, Jay Dilla, Oddisee, 9th Wonder, Kan Kick, ONRA, Floyd the Locsmif, The Alchemist, ExileGood hip hop: Immortal Technique, Aesop Rock, MF Doom, Mos Def, Jay Z, Juaninacka, Kanye West, Dilated Peoples, Tyler the Creator, CommonGood indie / etc: The Shins, The Books, Radiohead, Santogold, Manu Chao, M.I.A., Kings of Convenience, Guster, Thom Yorke, Dispatch, Gnarls Barkley (Is it hip hop? is it soul?), Dirty Projectors, Death Cab For Cutie, Damien Rice (sometimes..)...--BOOKS--My latest obsession has been anything and everything by Roberto Bolano, a Chilean author. I've recently read "2666" "The Savage Detectives" and "Last Evenings on Earth" by him. His writing blows my mind. Gabriel Garcia Marquez is also an amazing writer. I'm currently reading "100 Years of Solitude" (Cien Anos de Soledad) for the second time.Unfortunately, my Spanish isn't yet good enough to read these authors in their native Spanish, but that's my next step.Ernest Hemingway (his short stories, The Sun Also Rises, A Moveable Feast, A Farewell to Arms), F. Scott Fitzgerald (The Great Gatsby, Tender is the Night), and T.S. Eliot (the Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock) round out the modernist pantheon for me. The best nonfiction book I've read recently was "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan, and also "Latin America: from Colonization to Globalization" by Noam Chomsky. Also, "Open Veins of Latin America" by Eduardo Galeano and "The Shock Doctrine" by Naomi Klein. I'd be interested in reading up on some linguistics the next chance I get to hit up an English book store.--MOVIES--My favorites are: The Matrix, Waking Life, and Fight Club.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

One amazing thing? I moved to Ecuador to teach English.. (without knowing any Spanish) that was pretty amazing for me. I also spent 3 weeks living in the campo with my friend in Paraguay: excellent experience. OK, I guess that's two things.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Austria, Canada, Chile, China, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, South Korea, Spain, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Chile, Ecuador, United States