CURRENT MISSION

Not die in 2012.

ABOUT ME

Hi. I'm Juan(es).
I love New York City and Columbia University. I also love Architecture, and I aspire to be a sustainable architect/urban planner one day. I'm a Colombian of sephardic descent and damn proud of it. Nine times out of ten I'm in my own little world day-dreaming. I never sleep, primarily out of choice. I hate closed spaces, papercuts, and people that are full of themselves. My dream is to live in Sydney, Australia one day. I have an obsession with vanilla milk and liquorice. I was born in a quaint little city in the Andes, and I miss said city and my wonderful family very much every day. Siento que me puedo expresar mil veces mejor cuando hablo español, mais j'adore le francais. I hope to one day backpack around the world and blog about it, and not because it's a "cliché thing to do", because I think whoever said traveling is cliché deserves to be bitch-slapped. I think a lot of things, and I have the tendency to think outloud at the most innappropriate of times, oh well. My absolute favourite thing in the world is making others smile/laugh. I enjoy laughing a little too much. I appreciate friendship more than any other form of social interaction. British spelling>American spelling. I SUCK at good first impressions, both at giving them and reading them in others. Cursing in Spanish is less of a habit and more of lifestyle. Airports make me happy like you don't know. Uneducated and ignorant people make me sad (or rather, those who have potential and resources and chose not to take advantage of them). I like spontaneity. I also like big words, but not to impress others, just to impress myself for knowing them. I like hugs, and high fives, and obscure secret handshakes. I love nights that result in epic stories in the morning. I'm not too fond of eurocentrism, and I can rant about it for hours. Quite frankly, I'm scared shitless of growing up, but because I can't stop time, my biggest desire in life is to hope that in my death bed, my last thought will be "Damn, that was a really fun life".

Let's jam :D.

PHILOSOPHY

I feel that human beings need to truly learn how to take care of themselves and this wonderful planet we call home. I support multiple human rights organizations, organic products, and non-profit organizations. I believe that to create a stronger world, we must all cherish our similarities rather than fight over our differences. I hope to one day found my own set organizations to help the world become a better place.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I'm currently couch surfing throughout Canada, as I am doing an internship in an ecovillage 2 hours away from both Montreal and Quebec. I hope to host people eventually when I go back to New York City.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Montreal - May 28th to May 30th with Jeremie Vachon.

Interests

riding bikes in sketchy places.
Surfing.
Skating.
Singing.
Reading.
Architecture.
Sustainable Development.
Human rights.
Animal rights.

• animals
• arts
• singing
• architecture
• human rights
• reading
• traveling
• blogging
• backpacking
• surfing
• biology
• geography
• history
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

I have quite the eclectic mix.
Books:
I love classics. Antigone, Symposium, Lysistrata, The Baccae, Crime and Punishment, Brave New World, To The Lighthouse, Faust, Gulliver's Travels, The Brothers Karamazov. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE GABRIEL GARCIA MARQUEZ. One 100 Years Of Solitude truly changed my life.

Music:
MGMT, Daft Punk, Major Lazer, MIA, Interpol, Muse, Crystal Castles, Deadmau5, Nirvana, Tons more.

Movies:
Pan's Labyrinth, la science des reves.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

-Climbed tons of majestic mountains in my home country of Colombia.
-Hiked through Everglades national park in Florida at night.
-Walked the entire lenght of Manhattan in one day (from washington heights to south ferry).
-Rode bikes all around Montreal.

Teach, Learn, Share

I have recently mastered the art of organic farming haha. I speak English and Spanish fluently, as well as French at a pretty advanced proficiency. I absolutely love history, biology, and geography, and know a plethora of random facts in each these fields that one will not learn at school.I feel that my most important skill that life has taught me, however, is learning how to empathize with others. I feel that I have truly learned how to put myself in other's shoes, and see them for who they truly are.

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