CURRENT MISSION

Leave no stone unturned

ABOUT ME

I am a Canadian living between France and Brazil. I am grateful for a lot of things, which my travels have largely contributed to. I have spent the last many years discovering Brazil through my work as a sociologist and human rights activist. Meeting new people and discovering their musical tastes is a passion of mine as a guitarist and music lover.

PHILOSOPHY

My personal philosophy embraces the individuals within society and understands how different one person can be from their surroundings. I try to never generalise or judge based on prejudice/assumptions. Live and let live. Accept others for who they are, be it accepting that you like them or that you do not. Be brutally honest with yourself and with others because you have nothing to lose.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I have used the service a handful of times during a year abroad in Europe to my great pleasure and satisfaction. I was able to take in numerous people in my hometown in Canada as well and only had positive experiences. The community is strong and the message is spreading.

Interests

playing guitar, cooking and eating, discussion and communication in general, travelling, sports, swimming, billiards, fooseball/babyfoot!, reading, films

• culture
• cooking
• movies
• reading
• traveling
• billiards
• music
• guitar
• sports
• swimming
• languages
• sociology

Music, Movies, and Books

I have a diverse taste in music spanning many styles, genres, ages, and languages/cultures. I love sharing my music, hearing that of others, and discussing music and the arts in general.
I have also loved film from an early age and used rather old French cinema in my study of the language. Being in the 21st century with internet (and notably pirating ...) has been a key for my cultural discoveries!
I love the American author Daniel Quinn's Ishmael trilogy, which is a series that changed the way I think about life in my adolescence. I enjoy reading Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre (Notably "Huis Clos")

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Met family in distant corners of Europe where I'd never have guessed I would have.

Have been to and lived on the other side of the world (in relation to where I call home) in Reunion Island!

Contributed to the building of a mud/straw house.

Baked organic bread. Brewed beer.

Teach, Learn, Share

Pursue your passions in all aspects and in the face of any embarrassment. As a younger guy trying to learn my first foreign language in Canada, people frequently tried to speak to me in English, even in many places in Quebec. Despite the ease with which I could have communicated with people who thought they were doing me a favour, I continued to speak to anyone that understood French in the French language. This distinguished me as a guy who was willing to take the road less travelled. It endeared me to the Québécois who struggled in a province where their own language is becoming more and more under cultural attack by English. I believe you should pursue all goals to the very end be it for a public cause or for your own personal cause.

Countries I’ve Visited

Brazil, Canada, France, Spain

Countries I’ve Lived In

Brazil, Canada, France, Réunion