Hi!! :)

My name is Federico, or Fed for short ('Fede' for the Italians). I'm a 21 year old guy who loves to learn more than anything else. My passports state that I am Italian and Israeli (which is certainly true!), but I feel more of a citizen of the world. If you were to ask me where I'm from...

...the short answer would be: I grew up all over the place and currently live in London.

...the full answer would be: I was born in the city of Toulouse, France and moved to Rome as yet an infant. My sister was born there and then our family moved to Manhattan, New York. I spent my early childhood there and at the age of 9 moved back to Europe. We lived in a small village near Geneva, Switzerland, for three years before returning to Rome, this time for almost six years. I finished high school in Malta and came to the UK in 2014 for university. I've since been studying Theoretical Physics at Imperial College London and (if all goes well!) hope to get a Master's degree next year, in 2018.

As of June 27th I have been traveling in Japan, exploring the landscapes, tasting the amazing local cuisines, and exchanging stories with the people. I move over land by bicycle and over water by ferry. Starting in Naha, Okinawa, I plan to slowly make my way to Sapporo, Hokkaido, over the following three months. It will likely mean about 3000km of cycling, but I am not trying to break any records* or prove a point. So I like taking time to immerse myself into each locality and wander around to any interesting places that are along the way—or better said, that form the way.
(Of course, under the condition that I am capable of pedalling there!)

As an individual I tend more towards the introverted side of the personality spectrum. Not because I do not enjoy lots of social activity, but because I often simply feel the need and want to do things on my own. I think there's plenty of fun to be had in life with friends as well as solo.

I love everything music. Listening to it/talking about it/composing it/playing it—whichever you sympathize with, I'm all for it. Not that I'm any good at all of the above, but I love it, and it keeps me alive spiritually, so I try anything music related and have fun doing so.

Not too different from music, there's physics and mathematics, which I absolutely love. Specifically, the fresh feeling of learning them when they're new to me. Even though it might just be 17th or even -4th century knowledge to many others, to me it's a discovery. And teaching it (on the off chance that I am capable of doing so with a given concept). The glow of understanding in someone else's expression after a good, convincing explanation is quite awesome.

My passion for learning applies to pretty much everything else too. I believe anyone can find interest in anything. My rule of thumb in practice is: if I find something boring at first, the problem lies with my superficial understanding of the idea, not with the subject itself.
I especially like hearing about other people's passions. Less so with factual knowledge, a lot more so with the things people are personally invested in and love. I humbly admit that I am an avid listener.

Other things I really enjoy are reading (wish I did more! slowly increasing my regular reading) since some of the best experiences of my life have happened through books. I love imaginative and creative visual art; I find it very inspiring. Realistic art is great too, but there's enough reality in reality already—why not develop our imagination! :)

Traveling, biking and adventuring are also hobbies of mine. I travel a lot with my family, it's something we all enjoy and we are lucky to be able to travel to and discover new places almost every chance we get. For the past couple of years I've also begun doing long distance bike trips, wild camping (or 'stealth' camping) out in the open countryside and visiting countries from an alternative, more intimate perspective. It's quite difficult, both physically and mentally, but at the same time I keep coming back home just to start dreaming about the next trip. There's a strange attraction to the bicycle touring way of traveling. My first trip was across Wales, my second to Italy, and now Japan.

If you've made it this far, I'd be glad to get to know you better in person. If you are a host in Japan and are reading this, I thank you for taking the time to consider me as a potential guest in your home. Please read on to know more about who I am and my interests.
And have a great day :)

Fed

Japan trip update (July 15th):
(Okinawa)
Day 1, Naha
Day 2, Naha
Day 3, Naha
Day 4, Ikeijima
Day 5, Nago
Day 6, Bise
Day 7, East China Sea
(Kyushu)
Day 8, Ebinokogen
Day 9, Ebinokogen
Day 10, Hitoyoshi
Day 11, Hitoyoshi
Day 12, Kumamoto-shi
Day 13, Aso
Day 14, Aso-Uchinomaki
Day 15, Handakogen
Day 16, Beppu
(Shikoku)
Day 17, Matsuno

*Ahhh, you've noticed the footnote...
So, talking about records, during the end of May 2017, an Italian lady called Paola Gianotti cycled the length of Japan from North to South in less than 10 days!! Almost 3000 km and an average of more than 300 km/day! What an awesome woman! The challenge allowed her to raise money in order to build bicycle workshops and train local mechanics in Uganda.
Meanwhile, I'm slow, heavy, taking my time, have no route planned, camp out, stop at onsen every day, and am waaaay less fit. Brava Paola.

我为什么加入 Couchsurfing

I'm on Couchsurfing to meet Japanese people and become friends!

I'd also like to learn more Japanese and improve my current skill level. During my biking trip across the islands of Japan I am camping when possible and communicating with locals as much as my limited Japanese and courage will permit. To really get to know the people living in Japan today I think couch surfing is a perfect. Traveling solo gets lonely very quickly and those brief moments of bliss shared with someone outside a kombini, or on the beach, or while they're watering their plants, make this trip so much more worth it. I am on Couchsurfing to experience more of those moments.

Someone willing to open their home to a little known stranger has all my respect and appreciation. I wish I'll indeed have the chance to be a couchsurfer here in Japan.

兴趣

• books
• dancing
• cocktails
• crafts
• anime
• movies
• traveling
• pottery
• painting
• music
• live music
• classical music
• electronic music
• camping
• snowboarding
• swimming
• teaching
• mathematics
• physics
• food
• adventure
• sea
• family
• watercolor
• soundtracks
• humming along to songs

音乐、电影和书籍

MUSIC

A few favorites among the many many others...

- Some songs in particular:
"Kings and Queens", 30 Seconds To Mars
"Moanin'", Art Blakey
"Il Pifferaio Magico", Articolo 31
"The Elephunk Theme", Black Eyed Peas
"Chan Chan", Buena Vista Social Club
"Fairy Footsteps in Green Land", Chen Yue and Mark
"Arrival of the Birds" and "Transformation", The Cinematic Orchestra
"Cockeye's Theme", Ennio Morricone and Gheorghe Zamfir
"I See Fire", Ed Sheeran
"Humans Flying", The Flanagan Collective
"Never Be Like You", Flume
"Remember the Name", Fort Minor
"Senza Fine", Gino Paoli
"Dance of the Blessed Spirits", Gluck
"Aase's Death", Grieg
"So Far", Habanot Nechama
"Sock It 2 Me", Kaytranada
"Cavalleria Rusticana, Intermezzo", Mascagni
"Charge", Mr. Carmack
"Lovesick F***", Mura Masa
"Teremt'és", Márta Sebestyén
"Nature Boy", Nat King Cole
"I Put a Spell on You", Nina Simone
"Tanto Pe' Canta'", Nino Manfredi
"Don't Know Why", Nora Jones
"Entre Dos Aguas", Paco de Lucia
"Via Con Me", Paolo Conte
"Love Like a Sunset, Pt. I & II", Phoenix
"I Wish", Stevie Wonder
"Behti Hawa Sa Tha Woh", Shaan
"Less Djinns", Trentemoller
"Talking Fishing Blues", Woody Guthrie
"Yesh Makom", Yehoram Gaon

- Some albums:
Tapestry, by Carole King
Random Access Memories, by Daft Punk
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust, by David Bowie
Hotel California, by Eagles
Drink The Sea, by The Glitch Mob
American Idiot, by Green Day
Ron Roco, by Gustavo Stantaolalla
Tawk Tomahawk, by Hiatus Kaiyote
2014 Forest Hill Drive, by J. Cole
Hidden Sky, by Jami Sieber
Yeezus, by Kanye West
In the Court of the Crimson King, by King Crimson
Gioconda's Smile, by Manos Hadjidakis
Illmatic, by Nas
OK Computer, by Radiohead
Mio Fratello È Figlio Unico, by Rino Gaetano
Cowboy Bebop, by Seatbelts
Bridge Over Troubled Water, by Simon & Garfunkel
The Social Network, by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

- Artists/Composers in general:
Balkan Beat Box
Bee Gees
Beethoven (Symphony no. 5, I. Allegro con brio is so deeply amazing)
The Blues Brothers
Brahms
Debussy (Arabesque no. 1 is pure magic)
Djivan Gasparyan
Edvard Grieg (Peter Gynt Suite no. 1, II. Aese's Death is particularly awesome)
Eminem
Enya
Eric Clapton
Estas Tonne
Foo Fighters
Genesis (every single note they played till Peter Gabriel left)
Hans Zimmer (Gladiator, The Dark Knight and Interstellar --> wow)
Ikue Asazaki
Jethro Tull
Jimi Hendrix
Kendrick Lamar (just absolutely not his 2017 album...)
Led Zeppelin
Mahler (pick any symphony and you'll have a piece of music among the best ever created)
Michael Jackson
Mozart (the last scene of Don Giovanni, so powerful)
Muse
Nujabes
Otis Redding
Premiata Forneria Marconi (anything and everything)
Queen
Rachmaninoff (Piano Concerto no. 2, II. Adagio sostenuto might be the most beautiful piano piece of all time)
Ray Charles
Red Hot Chilli Peppers
Tracy Chapman
Two Steps From Hell
Tycho

MOVIES/TV:

Instead of favorites (I wouldn't know what to pick, so many have been absolutely amazing), here are some that I will never forget...

The Wire
As Good as It Gets
Avatar: The Last Airbender
The Pleasure of Finding Things Out
The Dark Knight
The Lord of the Rings
Mushishi
Interstellar
The Intouchables
Life Is Beautiful
Whiplash
Gladiator
3 Idiots
Honey and Clover
Barakamon
Up
Amadeus
The Grand Budapest Hotel
My Name Is Khan
Merlin
About Time
The Social Network
The Blind Side
Only Yesterday
When Harry Met Sally...
Coming To America
Kazablan
Elf
The Guardian
Happy Feet
(and I'm forgetting some of the unforgettable ones...)

BOOKS:

These are most definitely favourites.

The Alchemist
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
Earthsea Cycle
Dune (and sequels)
Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!
The Left Hand of Darkness
Thunder and Sunshine
The Shadow of the Wind
Inheritance Cycle
The Dispossessed
The Giver
Gulliver's Travels
Maus: A Survivor's Tale
The Crystal Cave (and sequels)
The Hobbit
A Discourse on the Method
The Curious Case of the Dog in the Night-Time
Tales of the Otori
Waiting for Godot: A Tragicomedy in Two Acts
The Fall

我做过的一件不可思议的事情

Sang ABBA's "Mamma Mia" in a duet, in front of an audience of 2000 people (right before hitting puberty and pretty much completely losing my ability to sing!)

教，学，和分享

I will happily teach anything that I know! I have a lot of interests and maybe we share some. So I would be very glad to exchange stories, skills, and fun times! It's what I enjoy doing most.

我可以与沙发主分享些什么

First of all, you are welcome in my future home anytime, as soon as I've settled down. In the meantime, if you come by London (or Rome or Israel, I'm there very often!), I can show you the best places to eat, the less known scenic places, the most interesting cultural sites, and anything else you'd want to know, I'd be able to find out (being a local).

Whilst with a host in Japan I could, for example:

- cook you a meeeean pasta (many different kinds: arrabbiata, carbonara, amatriciana, aglio olio peperoncino, cacio e pepe, panna e piselli, puttanesca, burro e salvia, pasta fredda, etc.), all we need to do is find the ingredients! I've been practicing for years now! Other dishes too, like chicken burrito, lentil soup, special unnamed egg in pita, etc.

- teach and share anything I can. If you're interested in physics, mathematics or science in general, I have interesting things to share about those. Also, on a computer, I can teach you to program in Python, compose music in Cubase, edit videos and special fx in After Effects and Premiere Pro, and other computer-relsted things. If you if are a complete beginner at guitar or piano, I've been playing around with those instruments for about 10 years and although my skill level really isn't that good because I never took practice very seriously, I can still teach you to play beginner songs. If you'd like to learn a language I know, that would also be fun! I have many interests and there are other things I'd love to teach; anything I can really.

- exchange cultural insight about the places I've lived, like Italy, Israel, Malta, London, etc., or places I've visited. It's very interesting for me to see how everyday life compares here in Japan. Many things are in common and many others seem very strange, and it goes both ways of course!

- talk about music, listen to great music together. Maybe you'll discover new artists and albums that you enjoy and hadn't heard—and me too! I'm in constant search of new music.

- also, generally, if you need help with something and I can help, I will!

我游览过的国家

Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, England, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Malta, Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Scotland, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State, Wales

我居住过的国家

France, Italy, Malta, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States