CURRENT MISSION

Work out a philosophy of existence through developing an art of living

ABOUT ME

I am a graduate student studying sociology at the University of California, San Diego. I grew up in the Midwest of the United States. I went to Mexico City during the summer of 2009 for two months couchsurfing around the city. I am laid back, interested in culture, society, people, social relationships, cities, concepts of space, parties, raves, clubs, reading, writing, poetry, literature, stand-up comedy, jokes, rap battles, graffiti, stories, story-tellers. I want to explore Mexico City and meet as many interesting folks with inquisitive minds and sentimental souls. I love hearing about the world from all different types of perspectives, and experiencing it with people from all different backgrounds. I think we all exist with a common project of figuring out what this world exactly is and who we are within it. Of course the answer is both simple and yet complex: we are the world and it exists because we create it. But the mindblowing ways that we all create our own lifespaces and our notions of what it means to exist remains ever to be explored. Hopefully I will meet you, currently reading this, someday and we can chat.

I took three years of Spanish in high school and one in college. Before moving to San Diego I was horrible speaking and ok reading. Now, I am a bit better at speaking. I have been reading the poetry and philosophy of Octavio Paz as a way to understand the language.

PHILOSOPHY

My personal philosophy is generally one of openness and change. I try to remain open to all that I see as "other." Before judging I try to understand, no matter how unrecognizable the custom, person, activity, etc seems. I don't walk around pretending I know the world. The more I learn the less I know. But the more I learn the more I experience. I am still working out what it means to stylize a life, to give it purpose, shape; to make life into a meaningful project. But I do have vague notions of what I want to pursue in creating a personal philosophy. How can humans living within a bureaucratic, consumer driven, classified (and classifying) society connect? How do we break through rigid social masks and develop meaningful relationships? The stranger is simply a person we do not yet recognize. Recognition is the first step to providing the foundation for respect, trust, and love. Before we can know someone we must understand them. How can we learn to listen, speak, and touch without imposing stereotypical perceptions? These are the questions that are at the core of understanding what it means to be human today.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I was in Mexico City this past summer couchsurfing.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

See above

Interests

Some random interests I have: horrible horror movies, rap battles, open mics, chatting at coffee houses, stand up comedy, "philosophy", urban odysseys, graffiti, Octavio Paz,

• arts
• culture
• writing
• literature
• poetry
• coffee
• working out
• partying
• clubbing
• raves
• movies
• reading
• sociology

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: Independent and international hip-hop. The Fugees, Lauryn Hill, Atmosphere, Sage Francis, Aesop Rock, Abstract Rude. Also I like Janis Joplin, Michael Franti, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Ben Harper, Julieta Venegas, Kinky.

Movies: I love Woody Allen movies, especially Annie Hall and Manhattan. Anything by John Waters, but in particular Serial Mom. I heart Huckabees. Y tu Mama Tambien. Hero.

Books: Labyrinth of Solitude - Octavio Paz, Borderlands, La Frontera - Anzaldua, Nausea - Sartre, Party Monster - James St. James, Giving an Account of Oneself - Judith Butler, Presentation of the Self in Everyday Life - Erving Goffman, Pathologies of Power - Farmer, No Logo - Klein, Five Lectures on Psychoanalysis - Freud, Distinction - Bourdieu, The Second Sex - de Beauvoir, The Use of Pleasure - Foucault, Animal Liberation - Singer

Countries I’ve Visited

Mexico

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States