ABOUT ME

Oh how difficult it is to fit one's life into a text box...

My name is Eric, and Enrique, and Enrico, and 馬愛樂 (just depends on who you talk to ;) I'm a 30 year old traveler, photographer, volunteer, and culturally competent polyglot from Chicago with a passion and love for life and adventure. I enjoy skydiving, longboarding, boxing, skiing, having new experiences, dancing, working out, and the list goes on and on...

I grew up in Chicago went to Pittsburgh for college-which the meeting point between Chicago where my family lives now, and New York City where my family came from Italy and Denmark several decades ago. I studied Spanish, Italian, and Chinese as my languages of choice.

On that note, I am a visual artist VJ (visual jockey) and content creator with photography being the main medium .Take a look at www.formatografia.com or @formato102 if you want to see some examples of my work!

I am diverse, positive, free spirited, charitable, genuine, adventurous, honest, athletic, empathetic, amiable, open, compassionate, convivial, romantic, philosophical, dependable, humble, creative, affable, dynamic, and vibrant. I love exploring the world and getting to know other people's culture. I love meeting new people and have deep conversations. I like to talk about languages, philosophy, culture, travel, life, world issues, technology, and about our experiences/stories.

PHILOSOPHY

Life is full of opportunities and it's up to you to take ahold of them.

"Work hard to play hard"

«Un linguaggio diverso è una diversa visione della vita» -Fellini

"You miss 100% of the shots that you don't take"

"When one’s words prevail over one’s principle, one will always be defeated" - Confucius

"By nature men are alike. Through practice they have become far apart" - Confucius

"Without music, life would be a mistake..." Friedrich Nietzsche

"Ah women. They make the highs higher and the lows more frequent." -Friedrich Nietzsche

"The more you know the stronger you are."

"Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life,
the whole aim and end of human existance." -Aristotle

“Happiness depends upon ourselves.” - Aristotle

"Hope is a waking Dream." - Aristotle

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.” - Aristotle

"Fear makes strangers of people who would be friends." -Shirley MacLaine

"La vita è circolare" -Carla Lucente

La Vita Vale

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Because it's amazing that people can come together on a site like this and meet and accommodate other good people with good energy and share amazing international or interstate experiences. After using Couchsurfing the few times I did, I never want to go back to staying in a stale, expensive, and lonrly hotel ever again. I believe there's a lot of other people who "get it" here on couch surfing, and I think it's amazing that this global network of travelers can even exist in the first place... Here's to higher consciousness!

FAVORITE COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I met some of the most amazing people in my life in Cordova and Buenos Aires in Argentina on CouchSurfing that took me under their wings and showed me their beautiful country.

Interests

Adventure, photography, digital editing, electronic music, animals, technology, flow arts, fire spinning, calisthenics, paddleboarding, being active, music art and food street festivals, urban living, videography, international business, global crisis relief, biking, snowboarding, skydiving, sailing, outdoors, indoors, music and art festivals, other countries, traveling, culture, volunteering,, Soccer, volleyball, handball, badmitton. Architecture. Will try just about anything once and go wherever life takes me.

Carpe Dium

Music, Movies, and Books

House music (as I am from Chicago) but I also listen to rap, rock, jazz, reggae, pop, classical etc. I actually do not watch TV (I'm always on the go) but I do appreciate film. I can't pick which is my favorite book :/

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Backpacking China was a very awe inspiring experience because it showed me just how different life can be lived. There's soooo many people that live that lifestyle, and it made me realize how vastly life is lived on all different kinds of levels. The modernity of the cities completely changed my perspective on American urban centers and infrastructure.

I experienced several awe inspiring moments while abroad such as helping with a homeless shelter as well as a mental institution in Toronto. This also really brought me to a new realizations in my life.
s.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach:
Photography
Content strategy
Web design
English
Spanish
Italian
Chinese Mandarin
Computers / technology
Marketing

I want to learn:
More Mandarin and German
More about photography
About cooking foreign meals

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What I Can Share with Hosts

I can share my business knowledge, my photography or videography skills, spirituality information, English, Spanish, Italian, and Chinese language, and honestly in general I'm a great guy and a lot of fun to be around!

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Canada, Chile, China, Costa Rica, England, Germany, Honduras, Hong Kong, Italy, Jamaica, Mexico, Spain, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

Argentina, Spain, United States