CURRENT MISSION

Life is short, so why wait to be happy. Seek wisdom, find peace, be cautious. But do live to the maximum. Whatever beautiful memories, great adventures and magnificent travels await you out there, depend mostly on you. Now get off the couch and be happy!

ABOUT ME

I just opened this account a few days ago and have hardly had any time to upload photos. There are hundreds of images of family and friends, and beautiful places, including my recent trip to the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World, in my personal website:

www.ProfessorTrelles.com

PHILOSOPHY

We all have the right to live in peace in the same planet. Every time there is an imbecile like George W. Bush, with a new war, we tend to forget that it will take us to disaster, destruction, and loss of precious lives and cities. I believe in Peace and Friendship. I enjoy learning about other cultures, and the more I travel, the more tolerant I am about others, whether a different religion, a distant tribe, or an almost extinct language, we are all human beings, and in the end, we will have the same joys and fears, the same hopes, defeats, and triumphs.
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Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

New to this experience. Perhaps I'm better equipped to show you around Miami, but at this point, I may not be able to offer a couch. I recently separated and have moved to a smaller place. Separation is not always a bad thing. When you are a friendly, civilized human, staying friends is healthy. I am LOVING my freedom, though. Hopefully in the next few months I can settle in a different apartment and will be able to host.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I haven't had any CS experience yet. In 2009 I wanted to spend my birthday at the Mayan Pyramid site of Chichén Itzá. I sent a couple of messages a few days before, but it seems most people were out of town for the Thanksgiving holiday, so I ended up staying in a small hostel instead, in the nice city of Mérida, Yucatán.

This year, I'm going to New York City for a bit more than a week, then on to Montreal for about 4 days, and then to Toronto, for another 4-5 days.

If someone could host me, it would make a huge difference in my slim budget. I lost my 2 jobs as a teacher in South Florida, but had programmed this trip in advance, so I will carry on, happily. Your happiness is important. Like some wise person said one day, you may die, but the world will continue without you. So, let's carry on with this happy life while we can.

Interests

Travel, other cultures, food, cities, people, languages. In general, the arts and humanities call me. I am trying to enroll in a PhD program, focusing on International Relations, Global Affairs, World Peace, Latin American Studies, or a field that's close to those subjects. Grad school in the US is horribly expensive, I know, I had to pay for my Master's. So I am checking out universities in Europe and Canada that will cover your tuition expenses. Some will hire you as an employee while you get your doctoral thesis and present it.

The cost of higher education here (in the U.S.) is so high that it's practically become a luxury, and since this is a priority in my life, I will move and live somewhere else. It probably will be a unique experience too, with so much cultural enrichment and social and human communication. Those are the things I live for, even if I don't own a luxury penthouse in South Beach.
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• dogs
• arts
• humanities
• education
• dining
• traveling
• rock climbing
• teaching
• international relations
• languages
• religion
• beaches
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

Cuban music, have you listened to it? I love Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac, Supertramp, Police, U2, good old rock and roll. These days I end up watching more Discovery Channel or Travel Channel specials than downloading music. But I genuinely enjoy most music palates, Mediterranean with a touch of arasbesque, Spanish, Greek, Italian, Northern African music. I also love Eastern melodies, from China to India and the Middle East. In Cuba, where I grew up, there is no silent day, everywhere you go there is loud, happy music, good, joyful, danceable music, influenced by centuries of trade and colonization routes from Spain and Africa to the so called New World. Havana, oh, that's a place like no other, complex but memorable.
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One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I love climbing pyramids and mountains, like Wayna Picchu (tall mount in Machu Picchu), Pyramid of the Sun, Pyramid of the Moon (Teotihuacan, Mexico), Tour Eiffel, walk the Amazonian forest in Iguazu Falls, Nemrut Dagi or Cappadoccia, Turkey, Meteora, Greece, oh walk in the Valle de Viñales in Pinar del Rio, Cuba.
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Teach, Learn, Share

Life teaches me a lesson or two each day. Every sunrise will bring new friends and new paths, and we're here on this Earth only for a short while. Why not learn from your elders! Why not share with your neighbor! As a teacher, I enjoy explaining anything and everything I already know, to someone who wants to learn. It fulfills the promise of reciprocity, and it spiritually fills me up with pride and joy to be able to help others and pass on positive, useful, constructive ideas to the community, to others. In that way, I pay forward all the good and blessed that I have received in this life, from my parents, my family, my friends, my dogs, and my world.
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Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Bahamas, Brazil, Cayman Islands, Egypt, France, Greece, Haiti, Italy, Jamaica, Peru, Portugal, San Marino, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

Cuba, Mexico, United States