CURRENT MISSION

It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life.

ABOUT ME

I am a 25 year old American student getting my PhD in Political Science at UC Irvine in Orange County, CA. In 2010/2011 I lived in in Florence, Italy while I completed a year of University there. During my year abroad, I had an opportunity to travel throughout most of Western Europe and see a TON of Italy. I am a person that is very passionate in everything that I do especially my studies. I love talking about interesting things in life: philosophy, literature, current events and especially politics! I love talking about these things because it gives me an opportunity to see other people's perspectives and expand my own knowledge on the topics in the process. I enjoy art, mostly Renaissance art, but that is probably a given with spending so much time Florence. I am not all serious and studious, I love to go out and have a good time. Drinking, partying and dancing with friends until the sun comes up is one of my favorite past times, but my life does not revolve around partying, I do it when I feel like doing it and stay in when I do not. I also have a passion for FOOD! I love to eat all types of food and I will try anything once. When I travel a good meal once in awhile is always my 'splurge' spending way more than I should. I am a pretty decent cook and have a few specialties (mostly grandma's Italian recipes) that I am more than willing to share with any hosts/surfers. When I go to a new city I focus on seeing the important sights and the unusual one's that will give me an interesting story to tell. Also, when traveling alone I like to taking life slow as much as possible and spending time people watching. Anywhere I go I want to learn as much as possible about the culture, history and the people that live there. I get along well with pretty much everyone, and if you like talking about politics or swapping interesting travel stories we will get along very well. In 2012 I spent four months backpacking through Eastern Europe and had the most amazing couchsurfing experiences and met the best people! Can't wait to host them here in the States! In 2014 I spent two months back in Europe again and got to visit some old friends made on the previous trip. If you ever want to discuss travel plans for Europe, I have plenty of information to share with you.
Update 2015: Had the opportunity to live in Paris for five weeks this summer cat-sitting (best job in the world) and will be spending another three weeks back in Florence and Sicily, Italy.
Feel free to add me on facebook as well at: www.facebook.com/john.emery4

PHILOSOPHY

I have found out over my short lifetime so far what I believe in and how I live my life. Perhaps one of the most memorable moments that changed my perspective forever was when I was traveling with my host family from Florence to Venice for Carnevale. We were all in costume and pulled up to a gas station and my host dad (Paolo) hopped out of the car and went up and gave the gas station attendant a big hug like he had known him for years. I asked Paolo if that guy was an old friend, he replied of course not I just met him, I was just saying hi. That is when it hit me! Paolo was the happiest person I have ever met and he treats every person that he meets like they are his best friend. This is the philosophy that I have adopted from him to treat everyone I meet like an old friend and that is also what inspired me to join Couch Surfing.

"We are all a little weird, and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love" -Dr. Seuss

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I will be able to participate by having a couch available once in awhile while I am in Irvine, CA depending on my course load at the time. More so, I will be able to participate when I travel by being able to share my opinions, my culture, and my stories while I am couch surfing. All of my friends that have participated in this have absolutely loved the experience and I want to be able to share my experiences with others as I am learning about the history, culture, and/or nightlife of whatever place I am in from a local that loves their city.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I began my CouchSurfing experience by joining a group event in Sicily and it got me really interested in the project. I stayed with my first hosts in Helsinki, Finland and I could not have asked for a better experience. They were amazing people and showed me an amazing time in Helsinki. I love everything that CouchSurfing has to offer and I am looking forward to more new experiences and making some new lifelong friends.

Interests

Food!!! Politics, Culture, International Relations, Philosophy, Religion, History, Psychology, Puppies, Activism, Scuba Diving, Live Music Friends, Meeting new people, Clubbing, Enjoying nature, Taking life slow.

• cats
• arts
• culture
• literature
• dancing
• dining
• cooking
• recipes
• nightlife
• partying
• drinking
• clubbing
• politics
• traveling
• music
• live music
• backpacking
• surfing
• scuba diving
• history
• international relations
• political science
• psychology
• religion
• science

Music, Movies, and Books

As far as music goes I am into pretty much everything! Jazz, Oldies, Blues, Hip-hop, Reggae, Rock, Alternative, Country, Techno/House, just depending on the mood I am in.
I LOVE MOVIES!!!! I am into all different types, but I prefer mostly drama movies, documentaries and anything that makes me think. I will watch anything as long as it is well made.
I really enjoy reading. Mostly I read the classics and philosophy or modern political science books. I love reading Noam Chomsky! He is a genius of US foreign policy and has literally changed my life forever.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Visiting Chernobyl nuclear exclusion zone outside of Kyiv, Ukraine in the summer of 2012

Teach, Learn, Share

As I write this I feel I have a lot more to learn than I do to share. But, I do have a pretty good knowledge of politics and my area of expertise is United States foreign policy, but I have a passion for learning everything. I am also very interested in history, current events, psychology and religions. I am willing to share my knowledge and gain knowledge from others as well.
Also, I would be willing to teach Italian to anyone who is interested in exchange for some local language lessons.
Finally, I am an alright cook, so I would be more than happy to cook for you (if you help me find the proper ingredients in your local language).

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Mexico, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Saint Lucia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovenia, Sweden, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Italy, United States

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