CURRENT MISSION

Conquer Los Angeles

ABOUT ME

As the first and only one of my 4 siblings to leave home and strike out for myself in a country where I have no family and know no one, I understand the value of generous friends and comfy couches. I am Lebanese, and my family is still in Beirut, the capital of Lebanon.

PHILOSOPHY

Simple, cliché, and still the most important thing ever: treat others as you would like to be treated.

My personal philosophy is one of self-improvement. Every time you do something, it should be done better than the last time you did it. Very hard rule to live by (not saying that I'm always successful).

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I've always hosted friends passing through town, but never anyone I didn't know. I've also slept on many a couch. I figured since I enjoy it so much, why not do it more often.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Couches I have slept on:

- a college friend's couch for three weeks after getting kicked out of my ex's place

- with friends in New York, Austin, and Los Angeles

- countless couches at parties

I hosted several people when I lived in Los Angeles for 5 years, as well as a few visitors to Lebanon in the past couple of years.

Interests

I love food. I love eating it, and more recently I've been loving making it in my small and cluttered kitchen.

I love travel. I quit my job in Los Angeles and moved back to Beirut, and one of the reasons was to have more free time to travel and see the world. Since then, I've been to Paris, Berlin, Taipei, and the US.

I love motorcycles. I rode my friend's bike in a parking lot and instantly got bit by the bug. My dream is to buy a motorcycle in Portugal and ride it all the way to Moscow.

• dining
• partying
• motorcycles
• traveling
• cycling

Music, Movies, and Books

MUSIC

Red Hot Chili Peppers, The National, Radiohead, SBTRKT, Alt-J, Sylvan Esso, Rhye... more here: last.fm/nourmalaeb

MOVIES

There Will Be Blood, The new Batman movies, Rush Hour, Killing Them Softly, Moon, Eyes Wide Shut... too many to list.

BOOKS

Haruki Murakami, Junot Diaz, Maya Angelou, Bukowski, Harry Potter

Countries I’ve Visited

China, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, Syrian Arab Republic, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, United States