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Overview

  • 95 references 53 Confirmed & Positive
  • Fluent in English, French, Hindi, Portuguese, Spanish, Urdu; learning Hebrew (modern), Indonesian, Malay, Persian (Farsi), Turkish
  • 35, Male
  • Member since 2008
  • Anthropologist/Artist/Dreamer/Free thinker
  • Listening to older people. Being curious/Making many mist...
  • From Caracas, Capital District, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)
  • Profile 100% complete

About Me

WEBSITE:
http://tettner.com/

Hi everyone, my name is Samuel, I'm a cultural anthropologist. This is the primary hat I put on, one that I like to think I "have always been," a mix of genetics and an upbringing being a tiny religious minority (Jewish) in an otherwise catholic country (Venezuela). "Culture" fascinates me, moves me down to my core, tickles the deepest corners of my being, and I can't get enough of both living culture and also reading and learning about it, which further enriches my experiences.

Since 2018 I have been exploring creative, multi-media projects. Since 2021 I've been exploring conscious dance and dancing as a way to experience my body and relate to the world.

My big project so far has been an accompaniment of a Sufi community in Barcelona for seven months, out of which came out a documentary (2018) and some photo exhibits (2020). You can see my website and if you're interested in collaborating on making something cool and meaningful, contact me.

I was first (2009-2016) fascinated by what we call knowledge, and I spent a few years of my life exploring what it means to know something, how we come about knowledge, and how other people can have, via language, tradition or concepts, other knowledges.

Then in 2016, I had what can be called, for lack of a better word, "spiritual" experience. I had had similar feelings with entheogens before but in 2016 I felt it without any "external" input. This spiritual experience happened in the context of traveling and meeting people through CS, and thus it further cemented my commitment to traveling and meeting people, since then both a passion and a life-affirming sacred commitment. I look forward to meeting people for whom travel is something similar.

Cooking is one of my passions. I won an award in 2017 from the Indian Cultural Center in Barcelona for my cooking of Indian food. I also enjoy cooking other Asian food, like Thai, Malaysian, Turkish and Persian, and of course, can make a few dishes from my native Venezuela (I once made the famous arepas above the arctic circle in Sweden, with a CSer of course).

I'm curious to speak to everyone and through that exercise reach closer, make bonds, and understand and appreciate this rare opportunity that it means to be alive. Cultural exchanges, meaningful experiences, and lasting friendships are what I am after. CS is one of the main ways I do that. Im truly grateful to the wonderful souls who I have met through this platform and I hope and wish we can continue to use it to revolutionize how we travel and ultimately how we relate to one another.

Hit me up if what I say resonates!

Interests

having a good time, enjoying life, meeting people, trying new things, making a difference in the lives of those around me.

Humor and laughing. Music: appreciating it and its powerful connection to society, and one day making it. Wondering about everything I see. Coming up with explanations for everything. The human mind and psychology, cognitive science, linguistics, sociology, anthropology etc. Scholar pursuit and academic research. traveling and experiencing new things, Couchsurfing and HelpX.net. The outdoors and ergo preserving it. Extreme sports. Veganism, permaculture, open-source ecology. Being conscious of who I am and what my role is, what my objectives are and what I need to do to achieve them. Connecting with humans at deep levels. Humanism. My friends and my family and my friends who are my other family. rationalism and scientific thinking, Public policies: cooperation and integration, Synergy. Evolving paradigms. social entrepreneurship. International Development, Non-profit work. Dancing, painting and every art and other romantic appreciations of life. Expanding my perspective, and entheogens. Helping others: go from antipathy to sympathy to empathy. Making the most out of every day. The wonderful world we live in. the internet and information policy, Wikipedia. Sports, specially basketball and college football. Having a good time, and you.

  • arts
  • culture
  • dancing
  • education
  • off-roading
  • politics
  • technology
  • traveling
  • socializing
  • painting
  • music
  • outdoor activities
  • scuba diving
  • sports
  • basketball
  • extreme sports
  • anthropology
  • ecology
  • teaching
  • psychology
  • science
  • sociology

Music, Movies, and Books

Books: postcolonial and non-european literature, specifically fiction. Historical fiction. futuristic dystopias.
Music: trip hop and downtempo, world music, fusion, ambience, electrónica, hindustani classical, smooth jazz.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I walked along the edge of the Cliff of Moher in ireland, witnesses the dawn prayers near the Jama Masjid in old Delhi, walked along Plivice lakes during summer, swam with dolphins, seen WWII concentration camps in Poland, (almost) climbed a volcano, ran a 10k race (got 4th place), chilled in the remote sands of Los Roques island, sky-dived, scuba dived, canyoned, biked at high speeds down the highest motorable road in the world, rode an off-road atv throughout the island of Santorini, seen the amazing metropoli of the world ( NYC, London, Berlin, Istanbul, Mumbai, Isfahan) Saw the midnight sun in Sweden, witness the religious sublime represented in the complex geometric patterns of Mosques in Iran, swam with turtles in Sri Lanka. I have a few mentors and many mentees.

but most importantly, I've done it all with the people I care about, my family, and my friends, and I've shared with them.

Teach, Learn, Share

Subjects:
Anthropology (especially about Islam and religion, about science and technology, about senses and feelings)
Philosophy (philosophy of science, contemporary French philosophy, non-European philosophy)
Spanish/English/Urdu
Cooking (Indian, Turkish, Persian, Thai), how to use spices
Films and Film-theory, history of cinema, photography

What I Can Share with Hosts

Inter-cultural communication, perspectives about culture, politics, philosophy. A great homecooked meal.

Countries I’ve Visited

Armenia, Aruba, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Egypt, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kosovo, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Venezuela

Countries I’ve Lived In

Germany, India, Netherlands, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Venezuela

Old School Badges

  • 6 Vouches
  • Pioneer Badge

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