Hello stranger, I'm Tomás :)

I'm a very lucky person.
Or at least I'm very grateful for all the simple things in life.
I'm also very grateful for all the infinitely complex things in life and I believe that this balance - this pleasure I derive from both extremes - defines me quite well.
Euler's identity (https://youtu.be/IUTGFQpKaPU) contains as much beauty as a smile :)

I'm Portuguese from Porto, was born in Bedford UK, and have lived in a few different countries.
Currently I'm immersed into writing my first novel and simultaneously trying to develop my non-profit.
I used to be a Physicist specialized in Bionanotechnology, I then became an Entrepreneur with a Mobile Gaming company which I still run, and in the meantime I got involved in all sorts of different things, swam for awhile in the depths of each one of my interests, and this took me to where I am now.

Here is the link to my non-profit project in Calcutta in case you're interested in that kind of adventure: www.facebook.com/kolkatamonsoonrelief

I love travelling and meeting new people. That sounds really cliché though, what an idiot.

Mostly different people.
People who can teach me things I've never thought of and redefine the word normal. Redefine previously stagnated concepts. Open my eyes. I love anything the human mind can be passionate about, even more so if it's something I never thought anyone could feel such passion for.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Hosting, surfing, events, meeting up.
Meeting strange people. Learning new stories.
Finding ideas and inspiration for my writing and films.

Interests

Filmmaking, Writing, Reading, Surfing, Photography, Football, Behavioural Economics, Philosophy, Making Music, Storytelling, Learning, Creativity, Entrepreneurship, Mindfulness, Volunteer work, Effective Altruism, Meditation.

Art Portfolio: www.tomasmagalhaes.com

• writing
• photography
• film making
• meditation
• reading
• volunteer work
• surfing
• entrepreneurship
• philosophy
• physics
• volunteering
• filmmaking
• football
• film photography
• storytelling
• creativity
• mindfulness
• learning
• sitar
• musical instruments
• effective altruism
• social entrepreneurship
• behavioral economics
• transcendental meditation

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: Devendra Banhart, The Xx, Velvet Underground, Bob Dylan, Radiohead, The Strokes, Little Joy, Tame Impala, MGMT, Foxygen, Nikhil Banerjee, Classical Music, Hiphop, lots of Bossa Nova.

Authors: Tolstoy, Orhan Pamuk, Paul Auster, José Saramago, Alberto Caeiro, Dostoyevsky, Rabindranath Tagore, Italo Calvino, Jorge Luís Borges, Alain de Botton, Michael Sandel, Milan Kundera, António Lobo Antunes and The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton.

Filmmakers: Werner Herzog, Ingmar Bergman, Stanley Kubrick, Wes Anderson, Paolo Sorrentino, Terrence Malick, Paul Thomas Anderson, Lars Von Trier and my beloved Charlie Kaufman.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

So many! The first that come to mind are:
Painting the fireplace of a house in a Turkish village with a population of about 100 people. Two Interrails! Skydiving. Bungee jumping in Zimbabwe with an elephant on the horizon! Living in Africa in general. Playing a Sitar concert in my Music School in Rishikesh. Hitchhiking from Bretagne to Porto. Hitchhiking in Iran. Hitchhiking in general. Great Wall of China covered with snow in the winter. Living in an orphanage in Rishikesh for a month. Shaking hands with the Dalai Lama. Surfing with dolphins in Byron Bay. Volunteering in 4 different states in India. Volunteering in general. The Victory Day Parade in Saint Petersburg. Flying over Uluru in a small plane during sunrise. The walk around Uluru. The silence inside the Great Pyramid of Giza. The Taj Mahal. Iranian Kurdistan villages. Starting a non-profit in India (www.facebook.com/kolkatamonsoonrelief). Listening to good music.
Reading good books.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach you about anything in my interests section (and hopefully learn too).
I can teach you about the cultures of the places I've lived: Portugal, Mozambique, England, Zimbabwe, Belgium, The Netherlands, India and Australia!

Most of all I like learning though. Learning about people's stories! Everyone has amazing ones. We're blessed. Nothing is better than a story. Story. Stories. Storytelling.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Normally I bring a gift from home :)
Also: cooking dinner, sharing groceries, sharing stories, not snoring, playing guitar, playing sitar, taking professional photos of you or your house.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Morocco, Mozambique, Russian Federation, South Africa, Turkey, Ukraine, Viet Nam, Zimbabwe

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, Belgium, England, India, Mozambique, Netherlands, Portugal, Zimbabwe