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PLEASE NOTE: My girlfriend, who lives and hosts with me, is a Shanghai local.
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Hi there! 哈囉哈囉哈囉！

My name is Gu Gu. Nice to meet you.

I've spent my adult life trying to scratch out a living for myself in different corners of the world: New York, Miami, San Francisco, Taipei, Brussels, Merida, Melbourne, and Paris. I especially miss Taipei.

I feel very fortunate to live in a city as safe and diverse as Shanghai and a country with a history as rich and a present as complex as China. Still, I'll admit that Shanghai isn't really my favorite city. 🪷🪷🪷

I'm always looking to hang out with cool people, travellers and locals, who don't just use CS as a dating/hookup platform.

Looking forward to hanging out.

中文也沒問題 ✍️

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I want to live in a world where people do not feel limited by their culture or geography. 🗺️

I work a lot. So, I'd like to bring the world to me through hosting. 💁

Interests

• music
• food
• china
• kindness
• paris
• taiwan
• community
• new york
• courtesy

Music, Movies, and Books

Let's have conversations about these.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I don't think 'amazing' is really the most important adjective to me.

I'm more interested in experiences that are moving and experiences that make me think, empathize, and understand than I am in doing things that sound 'amazing.' 🎊

An example of a moving experience was working as a caregiver for an autistic child for several years.

Another was volunteering teaching immigrants from Latin America in New York City how to cook affordable fresh foods they found in their new urban context so that they didn't raise their children on processed junk foods.

I also do really enjoy hitchhiking and have had great conversations while doing that in France, India, China, Thailand, Taiwan, San Marino, Cambodia, and Iraq. 🚗

I grew up in the United States as part of a low-income immigrant family doing our best to support our relatives back in rural Cuba, but I was lucky to get a full scholarship to study computer science at Stanford University in California. I left Stanford early to travel the world and do my own thing. I can return to finish my degree whenever I choose, but, right now, I enjoy life out on the road too much to return to being a student. 🧑‍🎓

Teach, Learn, Share

I'd be happy to teach English, Spanish, French, or Mandarin. I'm also really happy to learn anything, though you'd find that there are a lot of things I'm just really bad at. ✅

What I Can Share with Hosts

I'm a very flexible guest.

Some hosts want to spend time together, and I'm happy to do that.

Other hosts just want to offer a place to stay and do their own thing, and I'm happy to allow them their time, space, and privacy. 🦜 🦜

Couchsurfing can be about cultural exchange and making friends. It can also just be about helping other people fulfill their dreams. Judging from the stories I hear, I think a lot of hosts don't really prioritize just helping people enjoy their trip. A lot of hosts are looking for something in exchange. We don't ask for anything in exchange--other than basic courtesy/decency and respect for the fact that, on most days, everyone has to get to bed by a certain time (sometimes 11:30, sometimes 12:30, depending on our work schedules) because my girlfriend and I work. 👍

Thank you in advance to hosts and welcome travelers! 🙏

About my hosting situation:

--It’s a tiny apartment, but it's quite conveniently located in Shanghai, with four different subway lines nearby. 🚇🚉🚄

--I don't have a kitchen in my apartment, but there is a microwave and some counter space on another floor of the building. 🔥

--I am happy to help you navigate Shanghai, and I speak Chinese and can translate information for you if that would be helpful. 🈶

--PLEASE NOTE: This might not be the best place for you to stay if your primary motivation for visiting Shanghai is to go clubbing and return intoxicated in the middle of the night. (I once had a surfer pass out drunk on the couch in the lobby of my apartment building, right in front of the security guard, after a night out partying. Partying is cool, but we should all try to be reasonably respectful guests.) ✌️

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, China, Croatia, Cuba, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Macao, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, Montenegro, Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Romania, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, Belgium, China, France, Mexico, Taiwan, Turkey, United States