CURRENT MISSION

Find what to do next

ABOUT ME

Well... what can I say about me?
I'm Andrea, I was born thirty years ago in wonderful Sicily, and currently I'm a librarian at Oxford Brookes University after studying in Town Planning in Paris (currently fininshing an Erasmus year at Oxford Brookes) , after having studied both Sociology in Paris (the city where I am living) and Media Studies in Siena.
I think I can be a quite nice person, a bit too shy sometimes and untidy to be the perfect couchsurfer (which doesn't mean that I don't know what being a guest - or a host - means!), but after all I think I can be a good companion.

Oh, yes, I love traveling (do I need to say it?) and I hope to see the most I can of this oblate spheroid named Earth.

PHILOSOPHY

Homo sum ; humani nihil a me alienum puto

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I'm no longer living in the Quartier Latin, but now I've got a much larger flat in the parisian Chinatown, 13th district of Paris. I will be glad to host you, meet new people, show around the city when I can (even if right now I will be quite busy with uni I'm afraid), and have a beer.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Just a few:
- 7 couches surfed (2 in London, UK and 2 in Rennes, France, 1 in Pisa, Italy) before my bike trip around Europe ; a lot more during my bike trip to Copenhagen (3 in France, 7 in Belgium, 7 in the Netherlands, 3 in Germany and one in Denmark !); 1 in Trélat, France, after my bike trip.
- 15 couchsurfers hosted :
*In Paris : Niklas from Germany, Eoghan from Ireland and Varun from Denmark, Oscar from Hong Kong, Daniel from the USA, Félix and Loric from Canada, Lowie and Sara from The Netherlands.
*In Palermo : Mario from the US and Julien from France, Sarah and Emma from Germany in Palermo;
* Both in Paris and in Palermo : Rafik from Québec and Kushaal from Mauritius.

And then... being in Paris means that you have always a huge mass of frends, half-friends, friends'friends'friends, acquaintances... that asks you for hospitality!

Interests

I used to be interested in a lot of things, books, places, films, differences, new media, social science, love and more.
Now I'd just say : I'm interested in living.

• books
• beer
• fitness
• movies
• traveling
• cycling
• communications
• science
• social science
• sociology
• study abroad
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

[This section is quite outdated. But I find it rather well written, and then the person I'm now is the consequence of the person I was when I wrote those lines, so, out of laziness mostly, I'll keep it almost untouched!]

This part risks to be too long - I'm not so sure that I would want to write it (or better, I think it could get quite boring...).

I just can say that I generally like cinema, in a rather visceral way that trascends reason.
I like BEING in a cinema, just as much as I HATE any sclerotized film theory - and the sort of snobbist attitude that often goes with them.
Sure, I love the films of Resnais, Goddard, Antonioni or Von Trier (between many others); but I'd just be a liar if I said that I disdain huger and lighter "hollywoodian" productions.
Besides, I can't say that I'm a real movie geek: there are still so many films that I need (and I want) to see!

Music is my love. It is pure emotion and spirit. My greatest regret is that I don't belong to the acolytes of those arts, the musicians (not yet at least, but I'm trying to learn to play the piano, we'll see what it gives in some year !). I try to be the most open that I can about music: I listen to almost all that's worth listening - and that is not too commercial - , from metal to classical (my personal favorite at the moment), from indie to jazz and from italian cantautori or to the psychedelics sound of Mars Volta.
Anyway I can't hide an old special liking for progressive rock, and some difficulty to understand so called "musics" such as rap, hip hop, techno and house.

Concerning the books... what to say?
I have a few time for reading, and the pile of "Books That I Started Reading But Then For Some Reason I Didn't Finish", of "Books That I'll Read When I'll Finish The Next Exams Sesson" and of "Books That I Absolutely Want To Start Reading But I Never Have The Time" on my beside table reminds that lifetime is limited...

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

-My bike trip from Paris to Copenhagen. I hope I'll have the time/money/fitness to do something similar again soon.

-Every single time I go into Piazza del Campo in Siena (even though I've lived there for four years).

-The central hills of Sicily, especially when they are covered in snow.

-And every corner of Paris, which surprises me every single day

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Morocco, Netherlands, Turkey, United Kingdom, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, Italy, United Kingdom

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