CURRENT MISSION

Live life to the fullest--travel and enjoy, yet also dedicate myself to improve the well-being of people globally

ABOUT ME

Hello! My name is Vijay (or Rahul), I'm an Indian-American from the United States with a passion for global health and traveling.

I've exploring quite a bit of the world: from the landscapes of Argentina, Morocco, and China, to the cosmopolitan cities of Europe, Dubai and United States. I've done medical work in developing countries, and recently interned with the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, where I worked on issues surrounding chronic disease prevention. It was quite an experience to work with global health from both the macro and micro levels =D

Currently, I am really looking forward to a 7 week trip through South East Asia and India that I have been dreaming of doing my entire life. I'm especially interested in the natural beauty of Asia. I think of nature as something truly distinct--the experience is 360 degrees, and it's important to recognize that all five of your senses are important for experiencing natural beauty to its fullest extent.

Tennis (and table tennis) is one of my strongest passions. Roger Federer is my favorite player ever :D

Traveling the world while working towards improving the well-being of people suffering from chronic diseases is my passion.

PHILOSOPHY

Our purpose in life is to be happy, whether that includes working towards helping your fellow man or woman, or coming to understand the mysteries of life :D

In this regard, I always deem it important to ask before I do something: will it bring me pleasure, or will it bring me happiness?

Life is dynamic, we must be willing to accept change and be ready for it.

It’s the very struggle of life that makes us who we are. And it is our enemies that test us and provide us with with the resistance necessary for growth. Always try to find something positive about someone--if you can't, then find something about them that you don't not like :)

Strength is derived from purpose and discovery of meaning in one’s life and experience.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I truly enjoy the spontaneity and serendipity of meeting people from other countries, and am eager to not just share my culture and knowledge and strike conversations about mutual interests, but also learn about their interests and ways of life. I think dialogue and exchange of views on such matters is very meaningful.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I am quite new to couchsurfing, though I will be traveling with a friend from Malaysia who has had some experience with it :)

Interests

Tennis
Global Health
Traveling
Asian culture
Spanish language and culture
Reading (about global health)
Foreign policy and affairs
United Nations and World Health Organization

• culture
• beauty
• reading
• traveling
• socializing
• tennis
• table tennis

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: I really like Indian movies! Movies with emotion, movies with powerful messages, and movies with great soundtracks.

Music: I especially like to listen to instrumental music (probably because I have to spend a lot of my time studying, and wouldn't be able to focus if I were listening to music with a lot of things going on =P)

Books: I don't read as much as I should, but when I do read, I enjoy it! I find myself reading more about global health than I have in the past (journals). I feel that any knowledge I gain from studying this subject will help me to help people in the future.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I have interned with the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland.

I have traveled to almost 27 countries on 5 continents, and am only 22.

Teach, Learn, Share

You can beat jetlag by altering your circadian rhythm by not eating on a plane (the clock in your body that dictates when you eat/feel hungry is more powerful than the clock in your body that tells you when to sleep).

The United States of America spends $60 billion USD a week on healthcare. The total amount for donations to global health is $28 billion, and this money is quite honestly crucial to saving many of the 55 million deaths per year worldwide. It's amazing to think that the United States, the largest funder of global health ($10 billion per year), could fundamentally change the entire landscape of global health if it donated just a week of its own healthcare to the rest of the world :)

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, China, Morocco, Switzerland

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States