ABOUT ME: My name is Rodrigo. I'm Spanish and British. I'm a huge F.R.I.E.N.D.S fan and I love photography, particularly landscape and sunset photography. I will wake up early for a sunrise on the Great Wall or stay up late for a sunset over the NYC skyline. I love big cities, but most of all I enjoy early morning and late night walks in the city when it's quiet.

PHILOSOPHY

Sitting on a beach at sunset makes life worth powering through

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

After spending a year studying in Hong Kong and travelling East Asia (Japan was phenomenal!), and having taught as private tutor and travelled from China and Russia to France, I want to explore America and spend time photographing daily life in this region - I will be studying North and South American politics and international relations this coming academic year, my final year of my Undergrad. I'll be spending eight months in Latin and North America in 2018, so the purpose of this trip to NYC is to become acquainted with the city and begin exploring options for further travel. I want to see as many art galleries during my stay as possible, and capture the sunrise and sunset from different locations.

Interests

PHOTOGRAPHY, international food, art, sailing, music (modern and classical), reading, tennis, singing...

Walking through new cities, exploring their nooks and crannies, finding the best places to eat in foreign cities, as well as in London...

But perhaps most of all... SPONTANEOUS TRIPS. They are the best thing I ever discovered!

• arts
• singing
• photography
• dining
• walking
• reading
• music
• hiking
• sailing
• tennis

Music, Movies, and Books

Cinema Paradiso (my favourite film of all time); Shawshank Redemption, French Nouvelle Vague cinema, Spanish contemporary cinema....

Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole... Ricky Martin... Lily Allen, Pink, Simon and Garfunkel, Avicii, Swedish House Mafia... Beethoven, Mozart, Handel's Messiah, Purcell... Perhaps Edward Elgar's Nimrod, from his Enigma Variations, is my favourite piece of classical music. I love Armin van Buuren and Calvin Harris too! I've been a chorister in a church choir for over thirteen years.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

During a 6-month stay in Barcelona, a few years ago, I spontaneously booked a 24-hour trip to Rome, during which time I visited: Sta Maria Maggiore, Trajan's Park, the Colosseum and Roman Forum, the Doria Pamphilj gallery, the Pantheon, the Latin Quarter, St Peter's Square, the hostel, the Ara Pacis Museum, the Fontana di Trevi, and Spanish Steps, back to the Forum and Colosseum at night, back to St Peter's at night, then 8am on the following morning a visit to the actual St Peter's basilica, followed by the most beautiful thing of all: a sunrise view of the whole of Rome and its spires from the dome of St Peter's in the Vatican. Then, back onto the train and back to Barcelona. The most amazing 24 hours of my life!

But I could tell you many more, like cycling around Mount Fuji in Winter, hiking a Chinese mountain for sunrise at the top... walking along the Great Wall... visiting the Scottish highlands... I could go on!

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can teach you modern european languages (Spanish, French, English, maybe some German too haha!), and teach you about European music. I can tell you the best places to visit in Europe, mainland China and Asia in general, and I hope that by meeting many of you I will be even better at this in the future! I'd love to meet people from all over, but if you share my passion with South America (ive yet to go, but it's in the works and I cannot wait!), then please drop me a line!

Countries I’ve Visited

Armenia, Austria, Belgium, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Georgia, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Macao, Malta, Netherlands, Philippines, Russian Federation, Scotland, Singapore, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Viet Nam, Wales

Countries I’ve Lived In

China, France, Hong Kong, Spain, United Kingdom