Hello!

I have recently graduated college and been admitted to a PhD program, so before that hell begins I am spending some time traveling around Asia to regain some sanity from my studies, along with clarity of mind, novel perspectives, and new friends whom I would love to have come visit and stay with me when I'm back home.

I've traveled to 30-some countries so far and have had many adventures - the most recent being a 200+ km solo trek through the Himalayas of Nepal.

I love outdoors/active stuff like bicycling, hiking, climbing, kayaking, yoga, etc., but I also love nerding out with video games, philosophizing, reading and studying, long discussions at coffee shops. I'm also working towards my private pilot's license.

In my previous life I was a professional musician where I played guitar in Scandinavian-esque melodic death metal bands. Now, I just write odd, spastic electronica music: https://soundcloud.com/michael-iuzzolino-space-cadet

I look forward to making new friends on this journey and sharing some great experiences!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I want to meet people from different cultures with different worldviews so that I can expand my own perspectives and establish international friendship!

Interests

Academic interests:
Name the subject and I'm interested in it. My bachelor's degree was a triple major in Applied Mathematics, Molecular & Cellular Biology, and Neuroscience.

Hobbies/Activities:
Rock and ice climbing, cycling, running, backpacking, guitar, mountaineering, yoga, meditation, programming, learning languages, kayaking, reading, philosophy, etc.

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies:
I love movies from every genre, but for the sake of avoiding a vast list, the two movies off the top of my head that I absolutely loved were:
1. Old Boy (Korean Film), and 2. Love Exposure (Epic 4 hour Japanese Film).

Music:
Again, I love all genres. Most listened to over the past few weeks: Active Child and Owl City. I listen to trance/house, death metal, country, indie, jazz, classical, poppunk, r&b, etc.

Books:
I am quite thinly read unfortunately, but my favorite books have always been written by satirical authors such as Orwell, Huxley, Vonnegut, etc. I also enjoy biological and sociological anthropology - Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond was one of the most profound books I have read. Neil Postman and similar authors that discuss technology and its sociological impact are very interesting as well.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I've done a lot of things, but I wouldn't describe any of them as amazing.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach a little bit of guitar and some music theory. I may also be capable of teaching some mathematics, biology, chemistry, and physics.

I'm interested in learning anything and everything!

I love sharing my ideas about life, artificial intelligence, mathematics, cognition and philosophy, ending aging, space travel, astrobiology, etc.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Belize, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Denmark, El Salvador, Finland, France, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Peru, Portugal, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, United States