Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I love to guide as much as I love to travel.
During my vacation I set foot on the other side of the world. And while traveling abroad there are 2 things that I always do. First, I visit elementary school and excuse my self to go inside the classroom and really see the education going on. Second I sign up for free walking tours. I love to see the city from the native's point of view. I choose to be immersed in the life of that city as a true traveler and not be a tourist.
During the semester, I enjoy spending my time on giving back what I received. So I become a Busan guide in Nampo and Haeundae area. (It's called Ben's free walking tour: you can google it, I am one of the crew!) Travelers are often interested in my major and most of them are surprised to hear that Korean elementary school teachers teach all 13 subjects.
The best part of guiding is that not only do I get to practice my english, but also make foreign friends, break stereotypes and have a flexible thinking spectrum. This time, I met a friend of Israel and now I'm looking for books and movies about the middle east. And that is exactly what I am looking for on CS. I would like to give back the wonderful experience and show them the real Busan and what it is like to stay in the real home of a Busaner! Also I hope to see the other city and life and home in the perspective of a true native

Interests

• childrens rights
• yoga
• traveling
• guitar
• drums
• rock climbing
• bike riding
• diving
• museums
• spanish language
• disney movies
• musical theatre
• unicef

Music, Movies, and Books

I am totally into JAZZ! I love the jazz bars in Chiang-Mai and Shanghai. I would really like to play jazz guitar but need more skills : ) Frank Sinatra is a classic. Sound of the solo saxophone rings my heart.

I try to be a flexible reader. I like to read about philosophy, astronomy, history, anthropology and stuff. Since I want to travel to South America, I've read 'Tristes Tropiques', I wanted to understand the world violence so I've read 'Why the world does not stop war' and so on.
I also am a fan of Korean cultural heritage (architecture, pottery, Buddha statue) and Korean poems. So I read through some books.
When I was a teen I liked novels of 'Guillaume Musso' ,'Nicolas Sparks' but now I like 'Alain de Botton' more.

Hmm movies... I admit my favorites are Pocahontas, The little mermaid, Aladdin, Mulan
And I also like quiet ones like 'Life of Pi', 'the young Karl Marx', 'the darkest hour'
But I love loud ones as well like 'Bohemian rhapsody', 'Mamma Mia', 'Whiplash'

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

My best challenging experience in life would be "Jeju island bike riding".
There is an island in the southern part of Korea called Jeju and it's coastal line road is about 280 km.
Me and my friends completed riding 280 km in 3 days. We only ate, rode, slept. And I've never put myself into that long and muscle-burning challenge. And I wanted to give up at some up hill points but I kept on going and made it to the final point!! The most amazing part was I saw DOLPHINS while riding. They were saying hi and I got so much energy and happiness from them. I could never forget that moment in my life.

Countries I’ve Visited

China, Russian Federation, Taiwan, Thailand, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

South Korea