Greetings,

I had previously lived in Argentina as an exchange student and that begin my love for the Americas. Wanted to return to South America to live and ended up in Sao Paulo for three years freelancing corporate communications. Returned to Canada and school for 5 years to completed an undergraduate degree in urban and regional planning and a Master in Public Administration. Worked for Bombardier in their train division for three years on projects around the world. Currently living on the east-coast of Canada in Halifax and working for Halifax Transit as a project manager in-charge of their infrastructure projects and concepts like Bus Rapid Transit, commuter rail, etc.

Love the art of conversation and meeting new people. I am a self-proclaimed ‘Latin Americanist’ and especially enjoy meeting people from the region and sharing stories. I am really into music and film. I used to do music journalism and have a great story about how I ended up in Gustavo Cerati’s house in Bs As before he unfortunately passed away.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Two reasons. I am really wanting to discover the northern part of South America….Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela…and plan to visit these countries soon or in the future. But I don’t know many people! So I would like to connect with people, not necessarily to stay with them, but just to meet up for a drink or coffee and explore the city and converse. One of the nicest days of my life was when I was in Vienna for work, and I meet a person from Tajikistan by chance, and we spent a few hours exploring the city and talking. Love to do things like that and have those experiences.

Also, living in the east-coast of Canada in Halifax, I am happy to show people my city and help them with any travel questions they may have.

Interests

• architecture
• cooking
• yoga
• music
• soccer
• food
• film
• conversation
• salsa
• urban planning
• latin america

Music, Movies, and Books

I used to do music journalism so I like all types of music, just depends on the mood. One of my favourite things to do is, on the weekend when I have more time, put on some jazz while I cook a great meal. I started salsa classes a few months ago so have been really into some of the salsa greats from the 70s. There is a great website called rateyourmusic, so I just put an artist in there, and it gives me a lot of suggestions for other music and artists.

I like all types of films as well but mostly documentaries or travel shows like Anthony Bourdain, Extreme World, etc. Really like Mad Men as well especially for its touches on the 1960s...and I like the clothes!

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

When I lived I Sao Paulo, I lived for six months in Edificio Copan, which at one time, was in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the most people in the world live in it (5,000+). What I especially liked about the experience was that it was a city-within-a-city so you had every type of person living here. There were some luxurious three bedroom apartments where politicians, lawyers, and foreigners live, and some apartments that are no more then a room with a small kitchen and bathroom. There were also prostitutes, drug addicts, etc. living there. On the main floor there were bars, coffee shops, a church, video stores, pizza places, etc. So all of these people that might not normally cross paths lived together under one roof and developed relationships as neighbours. And I just found that so interesting.

Teach, Learn, Share

Teach people about my city, country, and thoughts.
Learn about other cities, countries, and thoughts.
Share experiences. Laugh. Have fun with life.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Just a really neat person who loves to converse, listen, and share ideas. I am not naïve about the places I visit or the hardships in many countries and I really enjoy the insight that locals can provide. When I travel, I don’t want to hang-out in expat bars or with people from my own country. Don’t get me wrong, but there is so much you miss about the local experience in doing so.

I am happy to help people if anyone has any questions related to travel to Halifax or the area, or even my experiences in South America. If I am able, would be happy to meet up with people and show them around the city and area.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, France, Germany, Mexico, Netherlands, Paraguay, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay

Countries I’ve Lived In

Argentina, Brazil, Canada