Hey Couch Surfers!

Kostas here,

I am a Greek-Canadian social work student who loves anything anti-establishment and radical, but also loves meeting new people and exchanging/discussing new ideas and experiences. I would call myself political, but not like your stereotypical old-school Greek Leftist :P I would rather listen to a different view that doesn't always align with my beliefs than hide from it or act like I only know best. I've usually always held the belief that there is something to be learned from almost any idea and argument there is (except those that say they think pasta is better than pizza, or cream cheese is better than hummus...just no).

I was born and have lived most of my life in the East-end of Toronto, Canada. While this is my main hometown, there is a village on the Island of Kriti in Greece where I've spent a lot of my summers staying family for many months on end--my second home.

I love Canada for it's natural landscape, it's diversity in it's big cities, and for the range of social movements such as the many Indigenous groups who are fighting back against the system (big respect); but even so, who I am as a person, my identity, and what I want to do later on is connected to a future most likely in Greece.

I haven't been to many other places in the world aside from other towns and cities in Canada, a few in the US, and London for about 6 hours (got out during a layover - does it count?). Despite this and my experiences in Greece, having grown up in a very multicultural city like Toronto, and in a neighborhood filled with newcomers and people from all over the world, I have been lucky enough to be around people with different perspectives and ways of being and kind enough to have opened my mind to the value everyone in this world has.

I don't believe in an organized religion, although I am spiritual in my own way and place my faith in nature, myself and the people around me. Currently vegetarian and believe that the transition into veganism is inevitable at some point for many reasons, the environment, compassion, and my partner being a few. Don't worry, I'm not here to guilt everyone into doing the same. I was a meat eater for most of my life and I know what it's all about. I instead like to paraphrase a special person in my life by saying: I'll do my thing and you do yours :)

Aside from that, I like to think of myself as a pretty outgoing/open-minded person willing to try new things. Definitely care about working towards having a less ignorant and more compassionate world than the one we currently live in, and like to be around people that also feel the same way.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I guess you can say I first experienced couch surfing as at a younger age, where I would go to a friend's place and stay over a few days because I hated being at home. It wasn't until I eventually met some friends who were out on their own and homeless at the time, that 'couch surfing' as a term was even a thing. A better/safer alternative to living out on the streets...

That's how I first heard of the term, but I had no idea that there was a community like this for the longest time!
I suppose I wasn't looking for it then, but I guess it took the right person to give me a reason to try it out right now.

What surprised and interested me the most abut this CS community is the amount of people on here willing to open their doors to people traveling through. I really admire the kind of person who is willing to do that for an almost complete stranger, mainly due to my experiences with friends and family who have done the same for me. It says a lot about who they are and what they value.

As a start, I'll just be Surfing since I don't have a space of my own right now to Host, but I definitely intend to 'pay it forward' when the time comes. I am super excited to do this and look forward to coming across some very awesome and interesting people along the way!

Interests

• politics
• music
• philosophy
• psychology
• social work
• sociology
• nature
• life
• spirituality
• social justice
• the universe
• love
• community building
• community
• sharing ideas
• alternative education
• social change
• anti-capitalism
• sharing food
• antifa
• open minded people
• sharing experiences
• controversial topics
• working together
• radical ideas
• alternative societies
• caring people

Music, Movies, and Books

MUSIC
I'm one of those people who can't easily remember most song names and artists I've listened to and loved, but overall love whatever fits my mood.
- alternative, classical, indie, almost anything 80s, mainstream rock, hip-hop/rap, mainstream, non-mainstream, psychedelic, even things in other languages I can't even understand! From Michael Jackson to Bob Marley, Cyndi Lauper to Coldplay, to Liszt & Paganini, Bryson Andres Emancipato, Linkin Park, The Backstreet Boys (Yeah, you secretly love them too don't deny it), Wu-Tang, Tupac, Nas, Nororious, ATCQ, KRS-ONE, Immortal Technique, Blackstar, System of a Down, Mumford and Sons, Daughter, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Tracy Chapman, Rehnna Hai Terre Dil Mein (Zara Zara), Arabic, French, Latin, and of course loads of Greek music of almost any genre, and the list "goes on and on my friend"...

MOVIES
Love to watch things that either make me think deeply like Donnie Darko, Interstellar, the Matrix, and Inception, challenge my comfort levels or intense like the SAW series (mainly first 2), documentaries like Baraka/Samsara or can make me laugh like Jim Carry in Bruce All Mighty did to back in the days, inspirational like Million Dollar Baby, V for Vendetta, Geronimo, as well as Westerns like The Good the Bad and the Ugly, There will be Blood, No Country for Old Men, and yeah, it goes on and on...

BOOKS
I'll make this list as short as possible. Not a huge book reader (more articles), and like the two other categories, I have a range of things I would like to read. Fiction books/authors: 1984, Brave New World, ASOIAF, Cloud Atlas, Room, Robert Langdon Series, Steven King, Thomas King, Through Black Spruce, The Celestine Prophecy, Homer, Non-Fiction: Tuesdays With Morrie, Rules for Radicals, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, The Saviors of God, Biographies, Psychology, Science, Carl Sagan...

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I recently went to Athens, Greece for four months as an international placement/internship for my Bachelor of Social Work program. I ended up making a connection to an NGO named ARSIS, which does work with youth who are marginalized, excluded, and/or in danger due to to a variety of social/personal issues. I ended up being placed primarily in the Youth Support Centre, as well as their shelter for 27 unaccompanied refugee minors. Long story short, one of the best experiences in my life. From the people I met and worked with, to the resilience I saw, to the friendships built, lessons I learned, connections I made, and to finding love. It was incredibly awesome and pushed me to start planning on going back next summer for a much longer stay.

Teach, Learn, Share

What I bring to the table is my passions, perspectives and experiences, which is something I believe everyone brings, and I think is one of the greatest ways we can teach, learn, and share from each other.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Interesting conversations, philosophies, food, helping out with cooking or cleaning, extra board-game player, easy going, and I guess anything else that comes to mind at that point.

Countries I’ve Visited

England, Greece, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, Greece