CURRENT MISSION

Enjoying life while trying to bring joy to other people's lives.... both are actually the same thing

ABOUT ME

I'm a graduate student working towards a PhD in mechanical engineering. You'd think that I do not have time to do anything else (that's what i thought when i started the program), but somehow i manage to find time to play team handball with a local club in the US National League, race with my school's Cycling team and run/help run a couple of student organizations.
I'm pretty laid back; a bit too passive at times. I am opinionated about things that i know about (eg politics in the middle east) and a good listener/learner when it comes to things i don't know about.

PHILOSOPHY

While what you do matters because it influences the world and the people around you, it is the intention behind doing it that really makes you what you are. Be good, do not hate and accept what life throws at you with a smile while you figure out what your reaction to that should be.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I am fairly new to this. I've just hosted one surfer so far and it was a great experience. I think that couch surfing is more than just a cheap way of staying in an area. It is all about facilitating mixing between people of various cultural backgrounds. People who may disagree about many things but have a common CS ground that brings them together. Although i would probably offer my place for someone who just wants to use it as a place to stay, i would definitely give preference to people who want to spend a minimum amount of time to know about me and share with me some things about themselves.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

As i said above, I've hosted one couch surfer so far. It was a very rewarding experience. I am starting to believe that through couch surfing, one can establish ties across cultures and start friendships that have a very low probability of existing in a regular context. I mean who would have thought that I would learn how to use the text editor 'vim' from an Australian surfer who has lived in England and Italy and was traveling to Panama!!

Interests

I'm a sports-oriented person, i've recently picked up cycling and have been playing handball for quite a few years (the european sport not the one where you bounce a ball off a wall). I also play basketball, soccer, volleyball, and do rock climbing (recently), roller blading (soon) etc...
With my PhD program and my involvement with various student societies at school, I don't get a whole lot of spare time, but when i do i'm usually either designing a website, playing a sport, or learning something new.

• running
• clubbing
• politics
• traveling
• cycling
• surfing
• sports
• basketball
• rock climbing
• soccer
• handball
• volleyball
• engineering

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

- Raced on a steel frame old-school commuter bike and kept up with the pack at a local criterium... sure turned some heads of those on carbon frame bikes! Those days are long gone though, haha.

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