Researcher/ Phd candidate who has recently made the move to Turku, Finland.
Mission: Fulfill my fortune cookie's prophecies/ Viajar, aprender, cooperar and pay it forward :) ...and I guess that PhD degree thingy

My name is Oliver btw, in case you haven't figured it out. Not Olivier..I don't eat 🥖 (well I do, but not frequently enough to add an I to my name) 😆

I got 3 shots! It wasn't rum but it was Pfizer...so I guess that is ok. I actually prefer whiskey... Tennessee whiskey... 🎵 Ol' #7 🎶

Please READ HOME SECTION too.

ABOUT ME

I am a laid back guy who likes to learn new things about life and see new places on this earth. When I am not traveling, I dream about traveling. I like to make new friends, and I am very open and friendly from the get go, and straight forward. I think expressing my thoughts is very freeing. My sense of humor is misunderstood, I like to think I am ahead of my time, but people tend to think I am quite behind - Whatever the 80s are making a comeback! ;)

I was born and raised in Peru, yet my adulthood is American ( went to school and grad school in DC, survived Houston and loved Austin). I am well educated and trained in economics, I have traveled extendsively in latin america and the US to observe, learn and further my knowledge through experience and will continue doing so, one of the best ways of learning. I have learned to be wrong and to defend my position when right, but always keep room for the possibility of being wrong.

My sense of humor is quite gringo and dark.

SOY UN TIPO SENCILLO, QUE LE ENCANTA VIAJAR Y CONOCER GENTE DE TODAS PARTES Y FESTEJAR. NACI Y CRECI EN EL PERU, PERO VIVI UNA DECADA ENTERA EN ESTADOS UNIDOS. MI SENTIDO DEL HUMOR ES UN TANTO NEGRO Y ALGO GRINGO, Y MI ACENTO ES DE MUCHAS PARTES Y DE NINGUNA A LA VEZ :P ..COSAS QUE PASAN

PHILOSOPHY

I don't know if there is a god, a true religion or karma, but as long as you are good and noble you will be covered in the afterlife, if there is one. If not, at least you got you conscience in good standing.
Laugh (it is an order) - it is good for you. After all life is really not that serious, you are just dramatic. ;)
There are tons of friends out there who have not met you yet, so let them know you are around and be friendly.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I have hosted , i have been hosted, and I refer friends to CS. I keep praising this website and the people in it. I try to go to CS meetings and meet as many Csrfrs as possible.

YO ALOJO A VISITANTES, Y DEJO QUE ME ALOJEN TAMBIEN. SIEMPRE ES UN PLACER CONOCER VIAJEROS DE TODAS PARTES Y GENTE LOCAL DONDE UNO VIAJA :)

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have been hosted several times, and every time I am surprise by the kindness of strangers. CS is such an awesome community, it shows the good nature of people. I tried to host a few times while in Houston, but people always ditch Houston for Austin, so they didn't come my way, which I more than understand. Then I moved to Austin and had really good experiences hosting fellow travelers. And I will keep doing 'til I am too old in wherever part of the world I end up.

HE VIAJADO EN LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS Y CONOCIDO A GENTE MUY INTERESANTE QUE ME HAN ALOJADO COO SI FUERA UN VIEJO AMIGO, TAMBIEN HE RECIBIDO A VIAJEROS DE TODAS PARTES A LOS CUALES LES HE MOSTRADO LA CIUDAD DONDE HE VIVIDO, AUSTIN. SIEMPRE ES UN PLACER CONOCER GENTE ASI :)

Interests

Migration as a topic and related mental health. It is the topic for my dissertation....so that.

Prior, I was the head of an Initiative in Cajamarca, an Animal Birth Control (ABC) that aimed to spay and neuter 1000 dogs and cats during our first year. So I am interested in project planning and social development projects as well as funding gathering...wow..yeah I just noticed I am definitely in my 30s

Traveling to all continents. Learning new stuff, taste new stuff. Try beers from everywhere. Meeting people from all over, hopefully they come with beer so it can help me with the previous interest. ;)

VIAJAR A TODOS LOS CONTINENTES Y CONOCER A GENTE DE TODAS PARTE Y COMPARTIR SU CULTURA.

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: The Godfather is my favorite movie along Citizen Kane. But I am quite fond of German movies.
I love Salsa and 80s music. It makes me shake my money maker.
Books: 100 years of Solitude and Siddartha

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

basically: The last 13 years ;p (I had a good run) here are some examples:
I drove on three hours of sleep from New Orleans to Tallahassee for 8 hours and to prevent myself from falling asleep I stuffed my pants with ice. It was a "cool" experience. Repeated the process from tampa to houston on a 17 hour ride.
Taking my parents on a US road trip for 1800 miles and introducing them to couchsurfing. Repeated the process in Mexico + my auntie was with us
I took a road trip on the greyhound a couple years back and was able to see a lot of the US. I have multiple time swam butt naked in the ocean, such a "freeing" experience :) It is kinda hard now to go back and be wearing swimming trunks now when I am in the water :(

And lots of lots in between. Stories to share in person :)

Teach, Learn, Share

I would love to teach anything I can. I can give tips about what to see in the US, what to see in Peru, teach Spanish words, English slang. I love to teach, but I know i can be wrong, so I try to be as accurate as possible with my descriptions.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Travel experiences, food, drrinks, as much as possible and always in the sense of reciprocity, and with no sense of entitlement neither for you nor for me.
ALSO
the couchsurfing mentality:
It is not a hotel, nor Airbnb, as a guest be considerate with your host, as a host be considerate to your guest.

sharing is important not just "taking" , it applies to hosts and guest likewise
.
there shouldnt be a sense of entitlement. even if you think you are marco polo. there is no deserving, if you get something is from peoples kindness, appreciate it, pass it forward, give it back someway or another.

LA MENTALIDADDE COUCH: no es servicio de hotel se considerado como huesped y ten consideracion al huesped

Compartir es importante, no solo se toma, se comparte, se agradece, se retribuye, se pasa el favor a alguien mas

no existe el " merecer" ni aunque seas Marco Polo, si te dan algo es por la generosidad de las personas, se grato y aprecialo

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kosovo, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, Myanmar, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Oman, Palestine, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, San Marino, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United States, Uruguay, Vatican City State, Viet Nam, Åland Islands

Countries I’ve Lived In

Finland, Mexico, Peru, Sweden, United States

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