In simple words, a Brazilian lawyer, currently living in London as part of my PhD Program, completely passionate about meeting new people from different places and cultures (:

IG: @guilherme.valente

CURRENT MISSION

Study. But still having time to host people or simply going out for a coffee

ABOUT ME

I never find it easy to describe myself. I could simply say I'm a Brazilian lawyer, currently living in London as part of my PhD Program. But that would be a really shallow overview. Perhaps the thing that describes myself most is my passion for traveling, learning new languages and experiencing as much as I can from different cultures. That's really who I am, and that's what has moved me so far. I just love to go to new places, to meet new people and to live experiences that, somehow, may change the way I see the world.

PHILOSOPHY

Don't really have any, I guess. Just respect yourself, respect the others and jump into the world! Open your mind and go as far as you can, hearing all you can hear, trying to see every little thing that makes this world so bloody fantastic! That's what moves me.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I've surfed a few times when I was travelling throughout Europe, having had the awesomest experiences. Now, I'm looking forward to hosting somebody here in São Paulo and show him/her the city.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I surfed a few times in Europe: Bordeaux (France), Cologne and Munich (Germany). All of them were great experiences. Met fantastic people who gave me an overview of how's life like in each one of those places.

Interests

I guess Cinema, Literature and Travelling are my greatest passions. I'm simply mad about Stanley Kubrick (I've seen almost all his movies), but I also like to watch movies from new directors and from different countries.

I know it's not really popular here in Europe, but i'm fanatic about Brazilian Literature, though I also enjoy european authors, such as George Orwell, Jane Austen (ok, I don't like her all that much, but it's nice to read it sometimes), Jean-Paul Sartre (he's THE guy!) and I'm really happy with my new discovery: the spanish author Garcia Lorca.

Another thing that really thrills me is Architecture, though I'm quite dummy on the subject. Anyway, for me, one of the most amazing things about travelling is trying to identify the architectonic characteristics of the place, and how they have developed through time. Besides, contemporary architecture also amazes me, although I don't really understand much about it.

Another great thing about travelling, for me, is getting to know people. In all the trips I've made so far, I always met such interesting people with so many different ways of seeing the world. That always hits me somehow. Everytime I come back home from a trip, I feel that, in some way, something about me has changed, that the world is much more varied than I used to think, that everything always can be seen from many different points of view.

Other things that also interest me are Photography, Languages/Linguistics and Psychology, though I just understand a little bit about this subjects. Anyway, I'm always looking for knowing more and more about them!

• culture
• writing
• literature
• architecture
• photography
• perfumes
• coffee
• movies
• traveling
• scuba diving
• history
• languages
• law
• psychology

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: It's hard to name them all here, so I'd rather do it by directors, though I'll surely forget someone. Kubrick (yeah!), Aronofsky, Coppola (both father and daughter), De Palma, Tarantino, Woody Allen, Fernando Meirelles, Almodovar.

Books: Brazilian literature, in general (especially Machado de Assis, Graciliano Ramos and Clarice Lispector). Saramago, Cortázar, Orwell (I was obsessed with him when I was a teenager, but I haven't really red any of his books lately), Jean-Paul Sartre (have I already said he's THE guy?). Pretty much these authors. Oh, wait, I admit, I'm fan of the Harry Potter books, haha.

Music: I'm really open to music. From Heavy Metal (yeah, I do like Sepultura and Slipknot), through hard rock (especially Guns'n Roses) and grunge (Nirvana!), indie music (The Strokes, The Hives, Arctic Monkeys), all the way down to pop.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

The most amazing things I've done in my life were the trips I've made, certainly. I've met so many different people and so many places, all so full of history, culture and life! Besides that, an especific event that I'll remember forever was the one time I did sky-diving. Simply amazing, can't describe it in words!

Teach, Learn, Share

Well, as I said above, I like people from whom I can learn new points of view, new ways to see the world. I'd like to learn more about History and Society, by hearing from people how their countries work, and how did they develop. I also enjoy learning new languages, so that's another thing I could learn by the contact with different people. Also, there are all these subjects I mentioned above, such as litrerature, cinema, architecture, in which I'm not an expert, so I'd really enjoy learning more about that.

On the other hand, I can always try to teach portuguese, lol, or something of english and spanish. Another thing I enjoy sharing with others is the way I see Brazil. Foreign people don't usually know much about my Country of Latinamerica in general, and I love to show them a little bit more about it.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Cambodia, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, United States, Uruguay

Countries I’ve Lived In

Argentina, Brazil, France, New Zealand, Spain, United Kingdom