CURRENT MISSION

to eat and learn to cook food from every region of the world

ABOUT ME

From 2007-2009, I couchsurfed around the world to learn the local cuisine and culture from new friends (see photos of my 'Cuisine Gurus'). I've published one book about some of my experiences, with more (focused on cuisine and culture) on the way.

I enjoyed hosting while volunteering as a chef/hospitality and tourism trainer for a year in Windhoek, Namibia, and recently finished a 2+ year volunteer contract in El Salvador, where I hosted when I was in the city, and not working with communities in the countryside! :)

The accumulation of my work experiences are a step towards a bigger vision: With my Vía Cocina - Food Train project in Medellín, I am bringing my fine arts, cuisine, and development work together into a cultural employment skills program, with affordable lessons for locals interested in affordable food from afar (and the chance to make a career out of cooking it).

PHILOSOPHY

live today, tomorrow you may rest in peace

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I try to network people with similar interests together when I arrive in a place, or through email when people are on opposite sides of the planet. I also refer a lot of my cs surfer friends to hosts/friends who I think they'd get along with. I'm sharing as much about cuisine as I'm learning, which is very fun and inspiring. I love to see a face light up the same way mine does when someone shares a highly technical process (often reserved for restaurants), or shares a simple home cooking recipe that they find easy and not worth talking about; there's nothing like comfort food from almost any continent in the world to choose from!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have to say, Medellín has a great CS network, with a lot of activities planned on a regular basis! I often miss it when I'm away from the city.

I've surfed and made great friends in Peru, Canada, Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Vietnam, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Macau, Hong Kong, China, Japan, South Korea, Greece, Italy, Tunisia, Morocco, Argentina, Uruguay, South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica and Colombia, and hosted British, Canadians, Germans, Swiss, a Malay, Kenyan/Somalian/Norwegian, and an American in Namibia, French, Australian and American surfers in El Salvador, and shared Toronto through hosting and touring with foreign exchange students from Japan, Germany and a number of countries in Latin America.

Interests

food, painting, drawing, design, art, music, contemporary dance, theatre, culture, fashion, travel, film, basketball, sports, conversation, taking chances, people with passion

• arts
• culture
• humanities
• books
• design
• fashion
• dancing
• dining
• cooking
• recipes
• clothing
• traveling
• painting
• drawing
• music
• sports
• basketball
• tourism
• volunteering

Music, Movies, and Books

silver linings playbook, amelie, les aimants, once, lovers, before sunrise/sunset/midnight, tape, dedication, serendipity, high fidelity, identity, the whole nine yards, 6th sense, the 5th element, unbreakable, matchstick men, swingers, my life without me, memento,following, devdas, the nightmare before christmas, van wilder, spanglish, lucia y el sexo, la teta y la luna, habla con ella, intacto, exotica, crouching tiger hidden dragon, a la folie pas du tout, femme fatale, keeping the faith, something about mary, me myself and irene, animatrix, minority report (minus the crap ending), bourne trilogy, the usual suspects, fight club, meet joe black, snatch, lock stock and two smoking barrels, south park the movie, desperado, chocolat, woman on top, what dreams may come, vanilla sky, magnolia, eyes wide shut, shakespeare in love, chasing amy, musicals, music from every country i've visited...

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I've been brave and fortunate enough to travel to more than 60 countries around the world, always amazed to see how many different ways the same basic food items can be transformed into completely distinct flavours and forms with a little cultural touch here, and a local cooking method there..

Teach, Learn, Share

I can tell you the cost of omo/surf excel detergent in about 25 different countries, compare cost of living for basic necessities across Eastern/Southern Africa and Southern/Southeast asia...????

I'm always happy to share info on volunteering overseas (without having to pay through money-making schemes), and of course diverse recipes I've accumulated (I'm always carrying more spices than clothes).

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Laos, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritania, Mexico, Monaco, Morocco, Mozambique, Nepal, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Rwanda, Senegal, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Tanzania, Thailand, Tunisia, Uganda, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Vatican City State, Viet Nam, Zambia

Countries I’ve Lived In

Argentina, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Canada, Colombia, El Salvador, Honduras, Japan, Namibia

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