I am a humanist at heart, a bohemian by nature, an artist by training, a physician by profession, and a polymath in my spare time.

I enjoy adventure, but the experience is almost invariably augmented by the presence of good company. There is nothing like great company and conversation to give flavor to traveling.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

For the pleasure of meeting fellow travelers, have them experience the wonders of the island, to vicariously enjoy their adventures until I can have my own again, in the hopes of meeting people from all over the world.

Interests

Pre-Med School:

Scuba diving, sailing, camping, salsa and merengue dancing. martial arts.

Before I began my studies I did the ground training for a pilots license but wasn't able to do the 50 hours flight time to apply, was also half-way to getting a CPA. Medical school put a lot of my hobbies and recreational learning on hold.

Intense love of literature, philosophy, history, and the sciences

Post-med school:

Humor, friendships, Puerto Rican cuisine, and good company

• arts
• literature
• dancing
• nightlife
• traveling
• socializing
• camping
• scuba diving
• sailing
• fencing
• martial arts
• history
• medicine
• tours

Music, Movies, and Books

I was trained in classical music, learned to play 4 instruments, so music is pretty much in my blood. There are very few genres I don't listen to, and to list my favorite music would be impossible. I would have to break it down by genre.

Specific Books: Platos Republic, Asian philosophies, Mario Puzos Godfather, Blumenfeld Neuroanatomy through Clinical Cases 2nd ed, Guyton Physiology, The Arabs: a history, Bhagavad Gita, Marcus Aurelius' Meditations

Writers: Shakespeare, Seneca, Christopher Hitchens, Mencken, Homer, Machiavelli, Oscar Wilde, Freud, and I enjoy Russian literature though I dislike that though its well written its depressing. Favorite among these is Tolstoy

Poetry: Pablo Neruda, Shakespeare, Byron

Huge fan of film
Modern Films: Amelie, Shawshank Redemption, Amadeus, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Good Will Hunting, City of God, Casino Royale, Outsourced, The Saint, RocknRolla

Classic films: Casa Blanca, Out of the Past (1947), The Third Man (1949), My Fair Lady, Citizen Kane, and I recently started seeing Hitchcock's body of work, Rear Window was pretty good.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

It is a long story it was attending a patient who was a young woman with an ankle fracture who had undergone extreme pain to correct a dislocation that would have been done surgically anywhere. The attempts to pre-operatively reduce the dislocation was so painful the cries of pain sounded like she was being tortured. Since I was a rotating student, I couldn't do or say anything, but when my shift was over I visited her in the ER and did my best to restore her dignity and make up for the unnecessary pain she had endured.

I have travelled extensively, I have done everything from fencing to scuba diving, but its the human condition, that I find most fascinating. And all my trips, from the tours of Europe to my ballsy solo trip to Havana Cuba and slept in the same barrios as the natives, all that seems great but I don't find it amazing. I love traveling, but the human condition is the greatest adventure of all.

In the words of Hippocrates: Wherever the art of Medicine is loved, there is also a love of Humanity.

Teach, Learn, Share

Pedagogy is an art form, and I love to teach.

Learning: a personal passion of mine, its a pity that there is so much to learn and so little time to do it in.

Share: my apartment, my knowledge, and during off days, taking guests to the Old San Juan or the local nightlife.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Cuba, England, Finland, France, Italy, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, Russian Federation, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey

Countries I’ve Lived In

Mexico, Puerto Rico, United States