CURRENT MISSION

Word of warning: most of this profile has been written in 2004. I haven't changed much, though... have I? Either way, it is now very anachronic.

ABOUT ME

Human.
Call me Paulo. Porto, Portugal, is where I was born and lived for 40 years.
For the second half of my act, I "decided" to move to the United States, landing in Folsom, California for professional reasons. We moved to Portland almost three years ago, having been the place we chose to live in, once that decision was possible. Wild horses will not be able to drag us out of here. Unless, you know, circumstances change. But I hope they won't any time soon. It's very good here.

P.S.: most of this profile was written in 2004 and has not been updated much ever since. So... some things in it are probably slightly anachronic.

PHILOSOPHY

The plan is... there is no plan. (copyright Ang, no matter what she may say)

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I'm still 'waxing my board' for the coming surfing experiences. As for the hosting... well, some surfers have been known to hit these waves: Ewa, Bart, Pauline, Damien, Emilie, Rajan, Andrzej, Jane, Andrea. (cronologically, and I hope the list goes on for ever. It only started in June (2005), so... let's see how much text this box can take. One of these days (hopefully) the 'Couch Info' will show something like "we're away for the next 6 months. key under the door-mat. beer-refill the fridge before you leave, please. Thanks."

Interests

Joaninha
Books. Travel journals. I also likeÂ… getting to know people who want to and need to be aware of the hows and whys of their lives and the lives of others. It helps if they are additionally aware of the fact that they are specially privileged, in many ways, regarding most people on earth. Open-mindedness (is this a word?...). Brazilian music. Jazz. Bach. Mozart. South America. The sea. History. Culture (any form, shape or sound). Ships. Sailing. Eating well. Good wine. Very good jokes. Astronomy. And of course... Travel.

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: any movie (long or short) not aimed at stupidifying viewers. Anything that strikes a chord in me. Any movie that gives me something new. It also has to mean something (either that or absolutely nothing). Like to laugh. Also will cry if it's worth it. Classic movies, European movies, Australian, Iranian, you name it. I'm almost 40, I've seen a lot of movies. Also some really bad ones along the way, just to be sure.
One of the best I've seen lately (last year): A Cidade de Deus (Brazilian). A must. (OK, THIS NEEDS AN UPDATE. NO TIME, THOUGH...)
Music: ANNA MARIA JOPEK. Miles Davis. Thelonious Monk. Charles Mingus. Herbie Hancock. Keith Jarrett. Caetano Veloso. João Gilberto. Mahler. JS Bach. Mozart. The Beatles! Maria Bethânia. Beethoven. Cristina Branco. Nick Cave. Chico Buarque. Jacques Brel. José Afonso. Sérgio Godinho. Madredeus. Elis Regina. John Coltrane. Billie Holiday.
I don't know... could go on.
Books: Now here's a problem. I have many 'favourite' writers. And books. I think I'll just drop in here a few writers every now and then, absolutely random. OK? OK. I'll start with... Jorge Luis Borges. Eça de Queirós. Arturo Perez-Reverte, Carl Sagan. Miguel Torga. Marguerite Yourcenar. Umberto Eco. Luis Sepúlveda. Antonio Lobo Antunes. Dostoievski. James Joyce. Gabriel Garcia Marquez. V.S.Naipaul. Jorge Amado.Joanna W.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I have hosted people I had never met, just because they asked me to do so in a message that came from someone named NO REPLY.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Brazil, Canada, Cuba, France, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States

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