I finally started a travel blog in Dec. 2015 (after putting it off for YEARS!): www.AlanTravelsaLot.com . I welcome any feedback you might have.

Looks like CS is now chopping off part of my answers in the Overview section above, so I'll paste my full answers here:

Occupation: How do you occupy your time here on this earth? Wisely, I hope.

Education: Quit university after two years to go live in Spain. That was over 20 years ago, and my education hasn't stopped yet.

CURRENT MISSION

To discover more of Asia!

ABOUT ME

I'm terrible at describing myself. For the moment, I'll let Paul Bowles explain:

"Whereas the tourist generally hurries back home at the end of a few weeks or months, the traveler, belonging no more to one place than to the next, moves slowly, over periods of years, from one part of the earth to another. Indeed, he would have found it difficult to tell, among the many places he had lived, precisely where it was he had felt most at home."

And I'll add this: I'm a trilingual (English, Spanish, French) American who's lived in and traveled to many different countries. I feel much more at home in Europe than in the US. I like the more liberal and laid-back lifestyle in Europe, where all of life isn't about making money and spending money. People take time to enjoy life, and aren't always in a big rush.

I'm a big city person. I thrive on all the activity, culture, and variety of people.
I enjoy going out at night to see friends, make new ones, have interesting conversations, enjoy some good music. And the best way to go is on foot! I love to wander around the city center exploring new places.

I'm very talkative and expressive and passionate about things that interest me. I really enjoy getting into intelligent conversations about many things, such as art, politics, philosophy, and psychology.

I'm a very bad tourist, but a good traveller.

This song says a lot about my relationship with travel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdb4S7sGFo0

Days are Numbers (The Traveller) by Alan Parsons Project

The traveller is always leaving town
He never has the time to turn around
And if the road he's taken isn't leading anywhere
He seems to be completely unaware

The traveller is always leaving home
The only kind of life he's ever known
When every moment seems to be
A race against the time
There's always one more mountain left to climb

Days are numbers
Watch the stars
We can only see so far
Someday, you'll know where you are
Remember
Days are numbers
Count the stars
We can only go so far
One day, you'll know where you are

The traveller awaits the morning tide
He doesn't know what's on the other side
But something deep inside of him
Keeps telling him to go
He hasn't found a reason to say no

The traveller is only passing through
He cannot understand your point of view
Abandoning reality, unsure of what he'll find
The traveller in me is close behind

Days are numbers
Watch the stars
We can only see so far
Someday, you'll know where you are
Remember
Days are numbers
Count the stars
We can only go so far
One day, you'll know where you are

PHILOSOPHY

"All who wander are not lost." - JRR Tolkien

What I do isn't really traveling, but it isn't moving either. It's something in between. I like to call it "troving." ;-)

"Travel. As much as you can. As far as you can. As long as you can. Life’s not meant to be lived in one place." - Gentlemen’s Wisdom (via lifestyleoftheunemployed.com)

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I've regularly attended CS meetups in a number of cities I've lived in over the past few years, as well as in cities I've traveled to. I try to make visitors feel welcome and show them the nightlife of the city. Recently I've started hosting a bit as well.

Interests

World travel, expat life, languages, movies (esp. indy and neo-noir films), Spanish language and culture, poker, backgammon, music, tennis, chess.

I love to discover music from all over the world! Sometimes I just pick a random country and find some of their music on Youtube. I welcome any music recommendations you might have, whether it's from your own country or something you've discovered elsewhere.

• arts
• culture
• education
• nightlife
• politics
• movies
• chess
• traveling
• blogging
• poker
• music
• tennis
• teaching
• languages
• psychology
• backgammon

Music, Movies, and Books

MOVIES: The Usual Suspects, Blade Runner, Pi, Heat, Los Amantes del Circulo Polar (Lovers of the Arctic Circle), Matador (Almodovar), Coen brothers (esp. The Big Lebowski), and many many more.

MUSIC: I like to explore and discover music of all kinds from all over the world. Sometimes I randomly pick a country and start listening to songs I find on Youtube. I also like to ask people I meet for music recommendations from their country (or region, city, etc.). So don't hesitate to send me suggestions!

Cocteau Twins, Death in Vegas, The Cure (especially pre-1990's), Leonard Cohen, Bohren & der Club of Gore, 80's new wave, rumba flamenco, progressive house, French house, Jean Louis Murat, Jean-Michel Jarre, Jean Leloup, Fleetwood Mac/Stevie Nicks, Pink Floyd, Cheb Mami, Ladytron, and many many more!

BOOKS: Gore Vidal (essays), William S. Burroughs, Frederick Forsyth, Wilbur Smith, Christopher Hitchens, Pablo Neruda, Robert Crais

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Hmmmm, having trouble choosing just one, so I'll list three, all of which happen to come from the desert southwest of the US...

1) Drove through the Virgin River Gorge in Utah. It's incredible as you approach it on the highway and it seems you will crash into the side of the mountain, but then at the last minute you see that there's a natural opening in the rock that allows you to enter and be swallowed up by the mountain.

2) Drove through the White Sands of New Mexico at dusk. Just incredibly beautiful to see how the light shines on the pure white sand....

3) The Grand Canyon. Must be seen to be believed. Absolutely breathtaking.

OK, and one from Spain: Wandering through the Barrio Gotico of Barcelona late at night. So incredibly somber and eerie.

Teach, Learn, Share

I'm a good poker player and have taught a few friends how to play well.

I also speak Spanish fluently, but not as a native speaker. So in that case I could be both a student AND a teacher.

Many of my friends who speak English as a second language say I'm a very good English teacher. So if you're wanting to improve your English, we can put that to the test. ;-)

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, France, Italy, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Thailand, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Malta, Mexico, Philippines, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Ukraine, United States