CURRENT MISSION

To constantly learn about our world, improving myself, and ledning a hand where I can.

ABOUT ME

I love to travel and meet people in the places that I go. People seem to be the main attraction of travel, as opposed to the multitude of sights that are listed in Guidebooks. I am currently trying to build bridges between Greeks and Turks by learning Turkish and studying at Bogazici University in Istanbul, which may be the greatest city in the world. I have two younger sisters, whom I love terribly, and miss during my time abroad.

PHILOSOPHY

When you set out on your journey to Ithaca,
pray that the road is long,
full of adventure, full of knowledge.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the angry Poseidon -- do not fear them:
You will never find such as these on your path,
if your thoughts remain lofty, if a fine
emotion touches your spirit and your body.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the fierce Poseidon you will never encounter,
if you do not carry them within your soul,
if your soul does not set them up before you.

Pray that the road is long.
That the summer mornings are many, when,
with such pleasure, with such joy
you will enter ports seen for the first time;
stop at Phoenician markets,
and purchase fine merchandise,
mother-of-pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
and sensual perfumes of all kinds,
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
visit many Egyptian cities,
to learn and learn from scholars.

Always keep Ithaca in your mind.
To arrive there is your ultimate goal.
But do not hurry the voyage at all.
It is better to let it last for many years;
and to anchor at the island when you are old,
rich with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting that Ithaca will offer you riches.

Ithaca has given you the beautiful voyage.
Without her you would have never set out on the road.
She has nothing more to give you.

And if you find her poor, Ithaca has not deceived you.
Wise as you have become, with so much experience,
you must already have understood what Ithacas mean.

Constantine P. Cavafy (1911)

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Right now, my main goal is to increase my own personal understanding of Turkey and Turkish people, and through that to increase cultural understanding between Turkey and the two cultures that I come from, namely, Greek and American.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have crashed on several couches, though none arranged online. I was part of an "american refugee camp" at a friend of a friend's house in Amman. I have couchsurfed at many monasteries, which are usually pretty insightful. Having lived in New Orleans, I have hosted tons of people passing through, the best of times being Mardi Gras, where no one cares where they crash!

Interests

Books, History, Language (Turkish, Greek, Russian, French, Twi, and a smattering of Amharic and Arabic), Great cities: New Orleans, Istanbul, Cairo (looking for more!), learning wherever I go, sitting by the beach, the music of Ozomatli, Live Jazz, the Krewe of Tucks, ridiculous journeys and adventures, octopus.

• culture
• books
• perfumes
• mardi gras
• dining
• wine
• traveling
• socializing
• music
• jazz
• camping
• history
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

Books first, as they are the most important:

All the King's Men, Unbearable Lightness of Being, Snow, Texaco, Adrift on the Nile, Regional Development in Ghana: the Theory and the Reality, The Chronographia of Michael Psellus, From the Holy Mountain, Brother's Karamazov, Crime and Punishment, One Hundred Years of Soltitude, and more I am sure.

Music: New Orleans Jazz, Mardi Gras songs, Byzantine Chant, Ozomatli, Journey

Movies:
Big Lebowski, O Brother Where art Thou, Little Miss Sunshine

Teach, Learn, Share

In the ancient world, hospitality was paramount to almost every culture. We read in the Odyssey how strangers were brought into homes, given the best food and wine, and then asked questions about where they came from and who their father was. The fact that they were fed before anyone asked any questions is critical. It demonstrates the care, importance, and value that guests commanded. Indeed, guests were under the personal protection of Zeus. In the Byzantine period, this hospitality could even be found in the rules of monasteries, who were obliged to take in strangers. This hospitality is not unique to the classical world. Examples can be found everywhere on this globe. Ties of hospitality were ways of fostering peace amongst enemies, exchanging ideas, and often providing familial friendships that spanned generations. Even the emperor Romanos IV Diogenes found hospitality in the camp of the Sultan Alp Arslan when the imperial forces had been defeated. I have been lucky to experience this hospitality in many places, and I have realized this culture of hospitality is vanishing from many places in our world, and I believe couchsurfing is counteracting that general trend.

Countries I’ve Visited

Burundi, Egypt, Greece, Israel, Jordan, Montenegro, Palestine, Rwanda, Serbia, Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, Uganda

Countries I’ve Lived In

Ethiopia, Ghana, Turkey, United States

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