Hello, my name is Miguel Angel Duran, but you can call me Tlan. I'm an artist who likes to travel, meet cool people and create art! I'm a filmmaker, photographer, printmaker, martial artist, professional daydreamer and overall noise maker! I'm currently in Spain working for eight months and will continue traveling to the rest of Europe. I want to see the world and understand the different perspective people have of themselves and their neighbors. I'm on a personal journey to grow as a person and firmly believe that in order to understand oneself you have to leave your comfort zone and go to a place both physically/spiritually that pushes you to ask yourself those hard questions and discover answers you never thought of.

I'm documenting my travel adventures through my VLOG: www.tlanavision.com

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I really enjoy meeting different people and hearing about their customs and culture. I'm on a personal journey to grow as a person and become a better man. Couch surfing gives me an opportunity to meet new people and to have a dialogue with different folks from around the world.

Interests

I enjoy watching and creating movies as well as documentaries. I love printmaking, its therapy for me. I take photos, read as much as possible, talk with folks, try different beverages and i'm an avid foodie. I love to try new things!

• arts
• culture
• documentaries
• film making
• movies
• traveling
• surfing

Music, Movies, and Books

People always ask me what type of music do I listen to, well, I listen to music, it doesn't matter what genre or language. I can go from Beethoven to Metallica to Vicente Fernandez, if it has a good beat I'm down!

In terms of movies...theres way to many to list, but I can list my favorite directors: Tim Burton, Guillermo Del Toro, David Fincher, Spike Lee, Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, Pedro Almodovar, Ron Howard, Alfonso Cuaron, Alejandro G. Iñarritu...you get the picture

Books...Vagabonding, Edgar Allan Poe, Charles Dickens, The Alchemists, Frankenstein, Dracula etc. Like movies, too many to list

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I ran with the bulls for the San Fermines festival in Spain! The most dangerous thing I've ever done! And I ran it twice! Crazy? Damn right, but the adrenaline was one of a kind!

Teach, Learn, Share

I'm currently teaching English to Spanish kids in Algeciras. Back home in the USA I make films and teach documentary filmmaking at Cal State University Northridge.

I want to learn Wing Chun, carpentry, Italian, French and find inner peace!

I want to share my natural optimism with people. I've had my share of setbacks and sad stories, but I've been blessed to look at the positive side of things. There's a lesson at every turn.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can share with hosts and their guests my filmmaking stories, jokes and good laughs. In my short life, I've experienced many things and I'm sure you have funny stories to share with me.

I believe what makes a country great is its people, not the monuments or buildings, its the people and I want to talk with those folks. Plus, buildings can't carry a conversation.

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, Canada, England, Gibraltar, Ireland, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Spain, Turkey, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Spain, United States