CURRENT MISSION

Find (or make) the world's best brownies. Any tips?

ABOUT ME

I'm pretty laid-back, friendly, and sociable (I think :) Teleported from beautiful Philippines to wonderful Philadelphia. I enjoy meeting people from all over the world, learning about their culture/language, and listening to different accents. I'm always up for random adventures and exploring, or just hanging out and chillin'. I'm gonna steal part of a friend's generous reference that kinda sums it up: "Rodel dances, cooks, listens, laughs, shares, explores, respects and he does this all while keeping it real." [thanks, Kash! :) ]

PHILOSOPHY

Try anything once
Reduce-Reuse-Recycle (I hate plastic)
I'm trying to practice minimalism

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I joined CS before going on a trip to Europe, I wasn't able to surf then but I joined an event and met my first CSers on the trip and had such a fun time. That's when I realized that it's not just about a free place to stay but rather meeting and connecting with new and awesome people!
Hosting my first surfers was a great experience and have been enjoying it since! Before that, I helped other hosts and surfers get around our city (I played cab driver :)
I've been active with the Philly CS community and have met super cool, friendly locals and travelers in this amazing city.
My first experience was having dinner and hanging out with CSers in Vienna. It's been a fun ride ever since.

Interests

I love playing taiko (big, loud Japanese drums! check out my pics) as a member of the Philadelphia KyoDaiko Taiko group. I also like playing hand drums (djembe/doumbek/conga/cajon) and any percussion instrument. I enjoy walking/biking/hiking/exploring both nature and cities, listening to live music, rock climbing, and other randomness. I've ran a marathon, biked 75 miles for charity, and learned skydiving under the "instruction" of clueless folks who could have killed me. I like trying all kinds of food. I try to do meditation, yoga, tai chi, or qi gong when I can. I like volunteering wherever I can help (Red Cross, soup kitchens, OneBrick). I'm also an IT geek so I'm comfortable with computers and such. Oh...I also karaoke hard ;)

• arts
• street art
• dancing
• minimalism
• podcasts
• live music
• drums
• karaoke
• hiking
• rock climbing
• volunteering
• biking
• exploring
• hidden gems
• trying new foods
• taiko
• hidden places

Music, Movies, and Books

music: taiko/percussion, hip hop, rap, jazz, blues, reggae, folk, anything live (open mics, street performers/buskers), love to discover new music I haven't heard before
movies: Star Wars, comedies, sci-fi, action, suspense, mysteries, anime
books: sci-fi, humor, fantasy, graphic novels, whatever I find interesting at the time

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Jumping off a perfectly good airplane 15,000 feet above the Australian desert while the rest of my tour group went to the zoo.
Getting drenched at Niagara Falls from just a few feet away -- absolutely breathtaking (walking behind the falls is also cool).
Riding the Philly Naked Bike Ride is pretty awesome.

Teach, Learn, Share

I'll share anything I know and learn anything you can teach:
Filipino language and food
taiko, hand drums
meditation/tai chi/yoga
computers (unix/linux/networking), electronics/gadgets
ukulele/guitar/saxophone (learning)
my time, my mind, and my experiences (share)
I'm also learning to say hello and thank you in as many languages as I can (please mention on your couch request if you can teach me a new language, to prove you've read this far).

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Austria, Cambodia, Canada, Dominican Republic, France, Hungary, Malaysia, Mexico

Countries I’ve Lived In

Philippines, United States

•