CURRENT MISSION

Getting a work permit for Canada

ABOUT ME

Definitely not an easy exercise. But I'll try my best...

Portuguese by parenthood and French by birth I rather proudly consider myself as a citizen of the world with a strong attachment to Europe. Having lived also in England and Belgium I love moving places which always means for me redefining myself and meeting different kinds of people. Traveling has changed my life and attitude towards life. Life in large cities can be a bit dim and couchsurfing has somehow restaured my curiosity and faith in people. Cheesy I know but still true... So far among the people I have met through CS I made strong and life-long friendships, I met people who showed me human qualities I did not expect, and some just shared with me happy moments that just stick with you for a while.

Here's how I could describe myself. Highly versatile, I feel comfortable in different situations. Although I consider myslef as a city person (which goes with a busy, socially active and sometimes slightly superficial lifestyle), I do greatly appreciate more relax and down to earth people. Yin and yang: love to party but also need my lazy moments, socially equipped I also appreciate loneliness. All that said I think I could be described as friendly, always ready to live special moments, sarcastic and idealist at times, non violent...

I like to meet real personalities, i.e. unique and selfmade people who bear their own way of life. I cherish genuine and positive people who don't take themselves toO seriously and are definitely open-minded.

Looking forward to enjoying all my future CS experiences.

PHILOSOPHY

Let me think about it first... Not so much a personal philosophy but a principle of life: take as many opportunities to learn, meet new people, travel and grow as I can... No regrets = healthy living!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

April - June 2007

My first months of CS. I spent them meeting, sometimes bounding, and integrating myself in the CS community: that means surfing a bit in Belgium and the Netherlands and attending CS meetings. During that time I met mostly European CSers.

July 2007

I am going to Thaïland for one month. Plan to do BKK, Kanchanaburi, Ayuthaya, Chiang Mai, Phuket and the East coast (Ko Tao, Ko Samui, Ko Pha-Ngan). I also want to make my first non-European CS experiences there which includes: meeting CSers, partying with some of them, surfing when I can, participating to meetings...

August - September 2007

Those months might be more chaotic as I have work to do, will stay at my parents' house and will visit friends in Belgium and family in Portugal. I also will settle in Oxford (UK) at the end of September.

Since October

I have been busy moving to & settling in Oxford where I am studying for a Master in Environmental Change and Management. Therefore, I have been truly busy & not so much available for CS. Hopefully, i'll get the chance to participate a bit during my holidays!

May 2008

This year's been great. Learnt alot by beeing in Oxford & meeting a lot of people. Environmental management's definitely what makes me passionate. Now heading towards traveling for my dissertation on the private sector contribution to the adaptation of the Least Developed Countries to the impacts of climate change.

June-August 2008
In Mozambique and Malawi

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

For CS pics, check out this section!

28-29th April 2007

I went to the CS meeting in Rotterdam and Den Haag with Yelyam . Ofir M offered us a ride to Rotterdam. What a cool guy with a good attitude towards life. We stopped at Yassinje 's place in Rotterdam, where we crushed for the night, before heading to the station to meet with all the CSers. From there it is just history: perfect weather, biking in the Netherlands with a great bunch of people...
Next day: Queen's day night in Den Haag with all the CS people, especially the group of Paris. So much fun + randomness = loved it :-)

CS ride + CS picnic + CS partying = what's best?

5th May, 2007

Brussels Hospitality Exchange meeting was fun. Yelyam and Ofir M were there, only Yassinje was missing... We saw Hooverphonic on stage and I met some fun people among which Tina , Didier ( the "King of Liège" with whom I had a great chat) and Esteban ...

12th May 2007

My birthday party! and guess who was there? Yes of course Yelyam , Ofir M , Esteban and Tina ! I also hosted Tina and her bro the same night.

2nd June 2007

Last weekend in Brussels... :-( I bumped into Yelyam who was with 2 CSers: Luca and Tak . I joined them on a (short) road trip to Antwerp! Luca hosted me for one night and gave us the Grand Tour the following day.

21st June 2007

Ahh back in Paris and La Fête de la Musique is coming. Great there is a CS Paris meeting the same night! I liked it as I got the chance to meet several CSers from Paris. Good bunch of people. Check out some pics: CS meeting in Paris pour La Fête de la Musique

End of June/July 2007

I'll be travelling around Thaïland! The two first nights I'll be surfing with James and Nang .

During my trip I also hope to meet up with: Poe in Chiang Mai, Sivalee in BKK and Fai in Koh Tao. I also met Lucas from Bresil there !

Trip to Thailand 26 June - 25 July

September 2007

Portugal baby!! Cool weekend at praia da Santa Cruz with Joao & other CSers

3-12 June 2008

I'll be in Bonn, Germany for the United Nations Climate Change meeting. Really looking forward to it especially now that Elisa & Mark agreed to host me for a few nights. My time in Bonn was much nicer thanks to my hosts & I feel like I got a fair taste of German culture.

Interests

Obviously: travelling, fun, random experiences, family & friends
+ TV addict (even though I have not had a TV for some years now), streetwear, scubadiving, squash, now trying out kitesurfing, laughing, movies, contemporary litterature, brit' music
More seriously: Environment, biodiversity, climate change, corporate social responsibility, human rights...

• culture
• books
• environment
• human rights
• cooking
• wine
• picnic
• exercise
• marathon
• partying
• movies
• tv
• traveling
• music
• cycling
• backpacking
• surfing
• scuba diving
• racquetball
• history
• squash

Music, Movies, and Books

MOVIES

I generally enjoy all kinds of movies as long as I am in the right mood. I love horror movies and also stupid action films.
Among my favs though are: Requiem for a dream, Eternal Sunshine, Punch Drunk Love, Butterfly Effect, Amores Perros, Magnolia, Dodgeball, Garden state,...

Music

Don't let me start on this. I will definitely need more time to fill in this bit (depeche mode, the kinks, the killers, daft punk, beck, simian mobile disco, hot chip, radiohead, the ting tings, colplay, kaiser chief, franz ferdinand...)

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

- backpacking North of Mozambique across Malawi by chapa
- marathon-like partying in Granada wine-tasting and tapas-eating all night
- riots just under my window in Rennes (France)during the social crisis of Winter 2007 over the CPE
- scuba-diving in Koh Tao, Thaïland
- living in oriel college, oxford (in front of christchurch)

Teach, Learn, Share

First let me honestly say that I have been told many times that I am not a very patient person, therefore teaching is not my "forte" but I am generally full of good intentions...
- Portuguese: yes! I am perfectly fluent (as long as I do not have to write it!)
- Pop culture: Yeah!
- tips on how to not kitesurf
- Cooking: That I am definitely good at (provided again that I have my material and ingredients); not to brag but I have already impressed lots of people with my talents there!
- Like to share my fav foods, my fav places to eat and go out, my fav books, movies and music

Countries I’ve Visited

Germany, Ireland, Malawi, Morocco, Mozambique, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Thailand

Countries I’ve Lived In

Belgium, Canada, France, United Kingdom

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