Next trips:
Colombia May 30-June 11th.
Sweden June 21st-July 2.
Norway July 12-23.
France Aug 2-14
Colombia Aug 22-Sept 4
Colombia or Europe Sept 11-24
UAE/Egypt Oct 17-Nov 6.
Accepting invitations to distant lands!

ABOUT ME

I grew up in Bogota, Colombia but moved to the US in 1998. I lived in Orlando, Atlanta, Birmingham, Mobile, Durham (NC), Charleston (SC) and now I live in Raleigh, NC. I love traveling and meeting lots of people from diverse backgrounds.

PHILOSOPHY

Carpe Diem et Carpe Noctem!!!
Do onto others as you wish they'd do onto you.
Work hard and play even harder.
I enjoy the small things in life. I try to take a trip whenever I have some time off. I am frugal on my daily life so I can do the things that really matter to me (like traveling).

"To argue with a man who has renounced the use and authority of reason, and whose philosophy consists in holding humanity in contempt, is like administering medicine to the dead, or endeavoring to convert an atheist by scripture."
Thomas Paine, The American Crisis

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I've been a member since 2006 and have served as a city ambassador in Mobile, AL for a couple of years and as a city ambassador in Durham, NC. I enjoy meeting travelers who are in the area and also hanging out with locals in different planned events.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Toon- Leuven, Belgium
Bram and Nele- Gent, Belgium
Jean-Sébastien & Stéphanie - Paris, France
Henri- The Hague, Netherlands
Mathias- Zurich, Switzerland
Gianluca & Claudia- Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro
Vanessa- Sao Paulo, Brazil
Yara- Sao Paulo, Brazil
Alberto- Sao Paulo, Brazil
Darryl- New Orleans, USA
Murat- Istanbul, Turkey
Jens- Zurich, Switzerland
Csaba and Zsofia- Budapest, Hungary
Davy- Ljubljana, Slovenia
Ana- Zagreb, Croatia
Maria- Athens, Greece
Murat- Istanbul, Turkey
Ben- Winston-Salem, USA
Philip- New Orleans, USA
Richey- Birmingham, USA
Nathan- Knoxville, USA
Sara and Rob- Chapel Hill, USA
Kelly & Colin Moore- Orlando, USA
Max & Katie- Boynton Beach, USA
Larry & Melinda Chen- Miami Beach, USA
Vlad Pescu- Gainesville, FL, USA
Bill & Kate Brown- Nashville, USA
-Hosted Gianluca & Claudia from Niteroi, Brazil.
Eser Cabaroglu- Samandag, Hatay, Turkey
Salvatore Paolo de Rosa- Gaziantep, Turkey
Sarah Scheitler- Washington DC, USA
-Hosted Ecco (Yang)from China/USA
JP and Nancy Lahaise- Montreal, Canada
-Hosted Eser Cabaroglu from Turkey
Nero Andersen- Oslo, Norway
Valeria Lacinova- Riga, Latvia
Ausra Lapyte- Vilnius, Lithuania
Jarkko Kinnunen- Helsinki (Vantaa), Finland
Martina Fields- Norfolk, VA USA
Ward Lassoe- Charleston, NC USA
Josephine- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (did not stay overnight)
Anar Sabit- Shanghai, China
Kuniaki Tokura- Singapore
Gianluca & Claudia- Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro (again)
Eser Cabaroglu-Istanbul, Turkey (again)
Mark Wilkerson- Nashville, TN USA
-Hosted Andreas Laforce Otto from Denmark
Randy Marks- Takoma Park, MD USA
Gontran Aljure- Chapel Hill, NC USA
Antonio Chs- Quebec City, QC Canada
Tania and Dima- Charleston, SC USA
-Hosted Cris Rocha from Mozambique
-Hosted Magda from Poland
-Hosted Wingho Liu from Duluth, GA USA
-Hosted Lynn from Montgomery, AL USA
-Hosted Siddharth Sareen from Bergen, Norway
-Hosted Marcos Falcone from Buenos Aires, Argentina
-Hosted Deborah Giordano from Rimini, Italy
-Hosted Marine Delforge (+1) from Quebec, Canada (France)
-Hosted Larissa and Mariella from Germany
-Hosted Margunn Almli from Bergen, Norway
-Hosted Micah Goldblum (+2) from College Park, MD
-Hosted Filip Dechterenko from Jihlava, Czech Republic
-Hosted Valeriya (Russia) from Wilmington, NC USA
Valeriya Martynova- Vladivostok, Russia
-Hosted Marjolein Roeke (+2) Netherlands
-Hosted Maria Alejandra Bruno, Anto Bruno, and Jeronimo Maina de Cordoba, Argentina
-Hosted Tony and Pieta- Christchurch, New Zealand
Farid A- Quito, Ecuador
Omar Cossio Heller- Quito, Ecuador
-Hosted Ivan Stobert from Atlanta, GA (Moldova)
-Hosted Cheri Isabella a nomad (from Florida)
Rob Howe- Madrid, Spain
Antonio Martin- Salamanca, Spain
Ivan Aranda- Seville, Spain
Pablo Bosch- Cadiz, Spain
Charlotte Leslie- Linea de Concepcion, Spain
Carlos Rivob- Aldaia (Valencia), Spain
Jordi Soler- Bacelona, Spain
-Hosted Inti Orozco from Brussels, Belgium
-Hosted Josh Blanchard from Marrero, LA
Ayleen- Barranquilla, Colombia
Lisa and Michael- Santa Barbara, CA
-Hosted Justin Simpson from Madison, WI
-Hosted Paula from Kentucky/Arizona
-Hosted Daniel from Toronto, Ontario, Canada
-Hosted Mark and Donnovan, from Columbus, OH
-Hosted Eglė and Osvaldas from Cambridge, MA (Lithuania)

I have only had great experiences, but the best ones have been when I have met many people through my hosts; Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Ljubljana, Gent, Orlando, Kuala Lumpur and Hatay jump to mind.

Interests

I cherish diversity. I really enjoy traveling, but I like to travel off the beaten path. I like to see the places I visit from the eyes of the natives. There is a lot to learn from others. I can't live without music and I enjoy listening to music that I cannot understand; I prefer soft music.

• education
• politics
• board games
• traveling
• music
• economics
• teaching
• medicine
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: I absolutely love music. I learned English by learning the lyrics to my favorite songs. I know a little Italian because I listen to Opera, I am learning German because I found a German musical and I can't stop listening to it. I love anything by Jim Steinman, Meat Loaf, Queen and especially Freddie Mercury.

Movies: The Shawshank Redemption, Love Actually, Crash, Immortal Beloved, American Pie, Deep Impact, Pay it Forward, And The Band Played On.

Books: Plato's Apology, Brain Longevity, Rich Dad Poor Dad. I don't really read much, but if I read I want to derive some benefit from my reading.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I have delivered babies. I have met the most amazing people though my travels and I have learned to adapt to just about any situation.

Teach, Learn, Share

The main purpose of my trips is to create long-lasting friendships and to meet cousins around the world. I’ve met over 930 cousins in person in as remote places (from our origin) as Australia and Emirates. I've stayed in touch with many of my hosts and I enjoy talking to them and plan to meet them later in life. I have met many foreigners in the USA and have visited them in their countries later.

"Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school." Albert Einstein

"A human being is a part of a whole, called by us _universe_, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest... a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty." Albert Einstein

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can teach Spanish, and some medical related things. I love board games and other geeky things. I am always up for talking about similarities and differences in education, health, economics, and politics between two countries.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bahrain, Belgium, Belize, Brazil, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Norway, Oman, Palestine, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Romania, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Singapore, Sint Maarten (Dutch part), Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Turkey, Turks and Caicos Islands, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Vatican City State, Virgin Islands, U.S., Wales

Countries I’ve Lived In

Colombia, United States

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