CURRENT MISSION

Learning to live in the now without dragging the past and worrying about the future

ABOUT ME

I enjoy meeting new people and learning from them. Because every person teaches you something new (about the world and thus about yourself).

I also enjoy spending time alone, discovering, taking pictures and writing. I am, first and foremost, an individual who interacts with other individuals.

I am American and Lebanese and I grew up in Beirut. I was fortunate enough to travel a lot with my family. However, I always found traveling as a tourist boring and superficial. I find living and working side by side with locals far more enriching... which is what I am doing now.

I recently moved to Melbourne to live and work here for a year. Along the way I am hoping to travel to Queensland, Tasmania and New Zealand but I am looking forward to making Melbourne my base.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have not had the chance to host or surf yet but I have enjoyed meeting fellow Couchsurfers! CS groups are useful because you find advice from locals and meet up with fellow travelers. Every time i'm in a tricky situation, couchsurfing seems to make everything better.

Interests

Travel books, following the news, experimenting different jobs, multi-culturalism, human rights, and well LIFE in general.

• writing
• books
• human rights
• news
• traveling

Music, Movies, and Books

Books - I don't read much but here are the few paperbacks i actually picked up:
The Big Trip by Lonely planet
Memoirs of a Geisha
Harry Potter ( i know it's for kids and it's lame)

Authors:
Paulo Coehlo
Amelie Nothombe
Jane Austen
Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt

Movies:
Frida
Crash
Babel
Romanzo Criminale
10 things I hate about you (i know i know)
Clueless (yes love the high school american movies)
and much more but can't remember right now

Music:
indie- electro (Daft Punk, Air, Empire of the Sun, MGMT, Groove Armada)
Chill-out lounge compilations (Buddha Bar, Cafe Del Mar, Hotel Costes)
Rock (Phoenix, Joy Division, Radiohead, U2)

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Every travel experience has its own significance but to name the most life-changing..it would have to be:

- Seeing the pyramids up close and browsing the bazaars (souks) in Cairo
- Taking a cruise along the Nile and visiting the temples of Ancient Egypt. It felt as if we were disconnected from time and space. As if we were cut from civilization.
- Going on a safari in the desert in Senegal. We slept in huts and visited a village nearby, where locals lived a simple life.
Definitely a experience that changes your perspective on things once you go back home.

Teach, Learn, Share

I never saw couchsurfing as a way to save up on money. Couchsurfing is about giving back to the community, it is, on a wider scale, about generosity and humanity.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Germany, Italy, Kuwait, Netherlands, Senegal, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, France, Lebanon, United States

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