I am 27 years old, and I come from Coimbra, Portugal. I am a doctor in the UK, where I have been living for 3 years now.

Born and raised in the student city of Coimbra - where I also eventually went to University -, by the age of 20 I felt that I needed to get out there and explore the world. My first real experience abroad was my Erasmus in Bonn, Germany (2012/13). Apart from the huge life experience that is to learn a new language and culture, I travelled as much as I could around central Europe, which I pretty much didn't know.

This eye-opening experience led me to move around for a bit. After short periods in Québec City, Canada (2014, 1mo), Vienna, Austria (2015, 5mo), and Augsburg, Germany (2015, 2mo), in July 2016 I moved to the UK, where I have been living and working ever since.

Following 3 great years in the SW of England - Exeter (Devon), Truro (Cornwall) and Plymouth (Devon) - I have moved to Oxford, where I hope to settle for the next 3 years while doing my training to become a GP (General Practitioner).

I probably will not have much free time, but feel free to message me if you want to hang out!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I believe the best way to travel is to defy yourself by going deep into the local culture and people; to really have a taste of what's life like in all those beautiful places we visit and photograph. To experience it rather then document it. So what better way to do so?

Interests

• culture
• books
• environment
• politics
• traveling
• music
• study abroad
• nature

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: I consider myself a rock-driven music fan, but listen to pretty much everything from jazz to metal (I'll pass the mainstream bland-pop though). I used to be a very mediocre guitar-player before my early retirement from showbiz :)

Books: I'm a big fan of literature's classics - "The Death of Ivan Illitch" by Lev Tolstoi, "100 Years of Solitude" by Gabriel García Marquez and "1984" by George Orwell are among some of my favorite books. However, I've been more into non-fiction over the last few years.
You can check all the good stuff on my Goodreads profile: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/19777396-jo-o-martins

Movies: even if I don't see myself as a cinema critic, I love watching a good film, either at home or at the cinema

What I Can Share with Hosts

See profile!

Countries I’ve Visited

Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Botswana, Brazil, Cabo Verde, Canada, Cuba, Czech Republic, England, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Namibia, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russian Federation, Réunion, Scotland, Serbia, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States, Zimbabwe

Countries I’ve Lived In

Austria, England, Germany, Portugal