CURRENT MISSION

Writing my thesis, teaching, meeting people and learning German

ABOUT ME

I love reading, writing, listening to music and travelling. I used to keep some reptiles and amphibians in the past, upon which I wrote some articles and books. Now my main activity is research in history and sociology of sciences field. I hope to become a researcher, ideally at the CNRS in France.

People working eight or more hours a day, doing something not creative and that they don't like, just to earn money in order to make a stable house, a family and all the usual stuff, is for me the most boring vision of one's life. I'd rather try to give a sense to my days in a very different way. Travelling is one of the most important elements, that's why I'm on CS.

I have many wishes, like visiting China and the Amazon, or like publishing my philosophical diaries...

PHILOSOPHY

I don't believe God and am not Christian nor Buddhist (even if I like the latter very much, especially in the Zen version). I think that only you are capable of giving a sense to your own life - and you can do it only by following what you are interested in, what your curiosity brings you to.

Life makes sense with empathy, beauty, creativity, curiosity, humorism and, of course, sensuality writ large. Religions or philosophies who deny these things are untrue and useless.

I think capitalism failed in every sense, not only ecologically and economically, but especially from a philosophical and social point of view. We are today mostly nervious and unhappy, and we don't even know why. The reason is simple: our contemporary world is a competitive system which invites or even forces people to hate each other. That's why I sustain the De-growth (decrecimiento, decrescita, décroissance) philosophy, by Serge Latouche in France and Maurizio Pallante in Italy. I admire Carlo Petrini and its Slow Food movement, Vandana Shiva, Jeremy Rifkin, Naomi Klein and, in Italy, the comedian Beppe Grillo.

Finally, money gives people the possibility to overpower you and to have you at their disposal in ways you don't agree with. We must go back to a large part of gratuity, and CouchSurfing is one of the best ways to go into that direction!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I discovered CS thanks to a Swedish friend in December 2007 and since then it became a stable part of my life. Not only when I travel, but also to host and to meet new people with local activities. I simply love the idea and most of the people that form the community. Whenever I encounter a couchsurfer, the feeling is immediate. It's like we've been knowing each other since ages.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Many and all great! Couchsurfing gives you a possibility to improve your languages, a deeper knowledge of the world and above all new true friends spread around the globe!

Interests

Phylosophy, sociology, history, literature, ecology, zoology, music, movies, cosmology, quantic physics, poetry, documentaries. And many others.

My favourite philosopher is Emil Cioran, my favourite novelist Louis-Ferdinand Céline. Their sarcasm and lucidity never tire me.

• reptiles
• amphibians
• writing
• books
• literature
• poetry
• documentaries
• beauty
• concerts
• dining
• breakfast
• movies
• reading
• traveling
• socializing
• music
• jazz
• ecology
• history
• languages
• philosophy
• physics
• religion
• sociology

Music, Movies, and Books

I've grown up with Erich Fromm, Jiddu Krishnamurti, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Gurdjieff, Zen Buddhism, Taoism, and others. I became adult with Emil Cioran. My work now brings me to Bruno Latour, Ulrich Beck, Michel Foucault, William James and others.

My favourite writers: Louis-Ferdinand Céline (Voyage au bout de la nuit), Herman Hesse (especially Narcissus and Goldmund, one of the best books I've ever read), Jean-Paul Sartre (Nausea), Milan Kundera (The Unbearable Lightness of Being), Albert Camus (The stranger, The myth of Sisyphus), George Orwell (1984), Salinger (The catcher in the rye), Michel Houellebeck (Whatever, English title for Extension du domaine de la lutte), Dostoejvski, Bulgakov (The Master and Margarita), Proust, Gesualdo Bufalino, Andrea Camilleri. Two more books I'd like to mention: Neige by Maxence Fermine, and The elegance of the hedgehog by Muriel Barbery.

My favourite directors: Woody Allen, Nanni Moretti, Alejandro Gonzalez-Inarritu, Terrence Malick, Darren Aronofsky, Federico Fellini, Ingmar Bergman, Jean-Luc Godard, Eric Rhomer, François Truffaut, David Fincher, Claude Chabrol, Tsai Ming-Liang, Kim Ki Duk, Wong Kar Wai, etc.

Here's the list of some of my favourite movies: Winter sleep by Nuri Ceylan, Taxi Teheran by Jafar Panahi, Waking life by Richard Linklater, Fight club by David Fincher, I love Huckabees by David Russell, Sturdust memories by Woody Allen, Wings of desire by Wim Wenders, Pi by Darren Aronofsky, Otto e mezzo by Federico Fellini, Il settimo sigillo by Ingmar Bergman, Stalker by Andrej Tarkoskij, Waltz with Bashir by Ari Folman, Full Metal Jacket by Stanley Kubrick, Gomorra by Matteo Garrone, Il divo by Paolo Sorrentino, A bout de souffle by Jean-Luc Godard, The Adventures of Antoine Doinel (five movies) by François Truffaut, Tales of the four seasons (four movies) and Comedies and Proverbs (six movies) by Eric Rohmer, In the mood for love by Wong Kar Wai, Lust by Ang Lee, Still Life by Jia Zhang-ke, etc.

Here's the list of my favorite documentaries:

1. Surplus by Erik Gandini
2. The Corporation by Mark Achbar & Jennifer Abbott
3. The future of food by Deborah Koons Garcia
4. The take by Naomi Klein
5. The Darwin's nightmare by Hubert Sauper
6. Memoria del saqueo by Fernando Pino Solanas
7. An unconvenient truth by Al Gore
8. The eleventh hour by Nadia Conners, Leila Conners Peterson (with Leo Di Caprio)
9. Home by Yann Arthus-Bertrand
10. Bowling a columbine by Michael Moore
11. A crude awakening by Basil Gelpke & Ray McCormack
12. La mafia è Bianca di Stefano Maria Bianchi e Alberto Nerazzini

My favourite music: techno and electronic music (Kalkbrenner, Fakear, Odesza, Boris Brejcha, etc.), Franco Battiato, Subsonica, classical music, lounge music, Celtic music, Coldplay, Kings of convenience, Armand Amar, Yann Tiersen, System of a down, Max Richter etc.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Having lived in New York, having taken a plane (which is an object that always has astonished and feared me), having caught reptiles in the wild, having talked different languages, having deeply loved, having created something (mostly writings). The most amazing thing to me, anyway, is to be lucid, capable of giving you vertigo.

Teach, Learn, Share

What can I teach? Maybe I can advise something to read or to watch. We can talk about anything. I love much more talking and thinking than moving my body. I can teach you some Italian dish. I also can teach you how to keep reptiles and amphibians in captivity. I would like to learn German. Anyway, I have an anthropological and sociological interest towards almost all kinds of stuff, so the more different, the better ;-)

What I Can Share with Hosts

A house, a breakfast, some expos and for sure some restaurant/bar or jazz concert.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, Italy, Spain, United States

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