Chris Burley

Current Mission: become a social entrepreneur

Personal Designations

₃₅

Community Designations

United States
California
Cupertino

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General Information

Chris Burley has been vouched for
VERIFIED MEMBER Identity Checked, Location Verified (3) more info
Couch available	Yes
CouchSurf requests replied to	100%
member since	February 27th, 2006
profile views	12,771
age	29
gender	Male
membername	EMORIGINAL
occupation	world traveler, armchair listener
education	BA Telecommunication, MS Management
grew up in	Michigan, USA
ethnicity	inspirasion
	Direct Profile URL

Languages

English^Expert
Spanish^Expert
French (Canada)^Beginner
Polish^Beginner
Portuguese (Portugal)^Beginner

Groups I Belong To

Social Entrepreneurship / Social Enterprise^637:240	International Permaculture Hospitality Network^2032:986 Why: I believe in community regeneration through permaculture practices
Colorado Springs, Colorado^331:806 Why: Staying in Colorado Springs for a few weeks	Brainstorm ~ Redefined^1348:17019 Why: To answer some questions
Active in 11 more groups. Show them all

Couch Information

Couch Available: Yes
Preferred Gender: Any
Max Surfers Per Night: 2

Shared Sleeping Surface: No
Shared Room: No

Sleeping on a futon, or floor with sleeping bag and camping pad.

I have my own room with my girlfriend and you will be sleeping in our living room (semi-private at night, but public in the day).

EMAIL US ONLY if
1. You've read my profile and identify / can relate to a few things. Custom emails only!
2. You're respectful, clean up after yourself, and are not what many may call a "freeloader".
3. Are interested in exploring the north side of San Francisco / Presidio.

Recently moved into the Presidio, stay here if you're willing to be a bit out of the way, but close to forests/marina/beach/golden gate bridge / marin.

Public transit is walkable, although it is not superclose.

Best for us to host you on the weekends! My partner and I work all week, so evenings and weekends we can show you around by bike/public transit.

Friends (118)

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Map of friends

Alecia Wigness 29, Female Indianapolis, Indiana United States Friends since May 1982 "This is my baby brother" Friendship Type: Best Friend ⁷	Elsa Calvillo 26, Female Barcelona, Catalonia Spain Friends since June 2009 "good friend and co-worker" Friendship Type: Good Friend
Paula Bialski 29, Female Warsaw, Mazovia Poland Friends since July 2006 "At the Couchsurfing collective in Montreal he introduced himself as 'Mr. Dirty,' I had to wash him clean." Friendship Type: Best Friend I vouched for Chris Burley	Ei Ei Khin 30, Female Cupertino, California United States Friends since September 2007 "we fly and nest together occasionally" Friendship Type: Close Friend
Gabs 38, Female Porto, Porto Portugal Friends since February 2007 "I would have to thank serendipity and the BCN crowd for bringing Chris into my world" Friendship Type: Close Friend I vouched for Chris Burley ¹⁵	Femke en Jan 33, Several people Delft, Zuid-Holland Netherlands Friends since July 2007 "CS collective Rotterdam 2007" Friendship Type: Best Friend I vouched for Chris Burley ⁴ ¹⁰ ³⁰⁺
Naz Gassiep 32, Male Melbourne, Victoria Australia Friends since June 2007 "Met while working on the CouchSurfing Project" Friendship Type: Best Friend I vouched for Chris Burley	Lei Bao 28, Female San Francisco, California United States Friends since August 2005 "Taking one class together in Michigan State University" Friendship Type: Close Friend ³⁰⁺
Giancarlo Russo 33, Male Schindellegi, Schwyz Switzerland Friends since June 2006 "Jumping ,laughin, drinking, ablando un poquito espanol...todo en Montreal! What about Warsaw, then?" Friendship Type: Good Friend I vouched for Chris Burley ²¹ ²¹	rachel 34, Female San Francisco, California United States Friends since July 2006 "We were roomies at the Collective" Friendship Type: Friend I vouched for Chris Burley ³⁰⁺
108 more friends

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Training the next generation of CouchSurfers on proper US etiquette
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Personal Description

I seek meaning in existence, constantly question truth, smile a lot, laugh even more, cry at good movies, fall in love with people and ideas, seek creativity, thrive on life.

How I Participate in CS

2006-2007 - Former CS Leader and Tech Team Coordinator

I used to do this...

CouchSurfing Experience

USA Trip:

From San Francisco to New York I stayed with Andrea who informed me that Italians drink wine in the High School cafeteria, Greg who taught me to catch and ride trains, Lisa who understands that the best champagne can come from a tap. The travel continued with my friend Travis in Chicago, my sis Alecia in Indiana, and my brother Rob in New York.

Traveled for 1 month in Germany and Czech Republic, lived for 3 months in Poland, and spent 2 months navigating the Iberian Peninsula while attempting to fend off the "dance till 9am" requests from all the Spaniards.

Sept 11th - Arrived in Frankfurt Au Main on a one way ticket. Spent a month in Germany and Czech Republic. Three months in Poland teaching english and devouring roquefort cheese with the Saffray family. Spent two months hitch hiking through Spain and Portugal meeting some of the most kind and giving souls along the way. I'm back in the good ol' USA now, planning my next major move and starting several social projects.

Interests

Alternative education, innovative sociology, spiritual psychology, photography, philosophy for dummies, self healing, web2.0, plant-based diets, the mind...

drinking groups with running problems, yoga, meditation

Philosophy

challenge popularism, understand the over-respected, jump off the bandwagon, lead others by creating your own path, evolve...

Music, Movies, Books

MUSIC:

Brett Dennen, Sigur Ros, Radiohead, Coldplay, Telefon Tel Aviv, Ella Fitzgerald, Erykah Badu, Faye Wong, Howie Day, Lennon, Khaled, Kings of Leon

MOVIES:

What Dreams May Come, Before Sunrise, Abre los ojos, Como agua por chocolate, Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, La Lengua de las mariposas

BOOKS:

Tuesday's with Morrie, The Missing Piece, Emotional Intelligence, The Unbearable Lightness of Being

Types of People I enjoy

Do you smile for no reason? Do you like to be creative? Can you sing a song, create music in the silent subway or play guitar near the beach, paint with your feet in the bathtub? Do you live life spontaneously? Do you play in the rain puddles instead of watching from inside? Are you optimistic? Do you see problems or opportunities for change? Have you felt the calling of others for your help? Are you present, do you really listen to the words others say? Do you realize that happiness comes from the inside?

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach several languages,several spoken by computers and several mumbled by humans. I can teach you HTML, how to make a website, how to fix a computer.

I enjoy inspiring others to live life in a richer way, eat healthier, and in general seek happiness in every moment.

One Amazing Thing I've Seen or Done

Became the first Caucasian to cook, sit and eat without judgment a proper dinner with an indigenous woman who became my best friend. I learned of life through death, cultivated the hidden strengths of others, and decided to give up a life of luxury for a life of growth.

Opinion on the CouchSurfing.org Project

“Tolerance is but the 'civilized' form of intolerance. The tolerated person is told that s/he is not the way s/he should be; and that; however, the dominant group or culture is so generous and civilized that she can stay – in spite of his/her difference. Hospitality is something radically different. Hosting the other has no implicit content of comparative judgment. It includes a principle of leveling (which comes with the root meaning of hospitality) by which the foreigner, the stranger, the 'Other,' is given a place within the 'we' hosting him/her." - Grassroots Post-modernism, Gustavo Esteva & Madhu Suri Prakash

Locations Traveled

TRAVELED: Canada, Colombia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Spain
LIVED: Ecuador, Poland, United States
WANTS TO GO: Italy

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What do these numbers mean?

This summary is not a replacement for reading references; it's a quick summary to help you get started. At a glance, you can see how many references a member has, and how many of them are positive, neutral, and negative.

In the second line, you'll see how many references came from people who hosted this member, surfed with them, and traveled with them. These numbers won't always add up to the total: some references are not categorized, and some may be categorized as more than one thing.

When viewing this summary, don't jump to conclusions! Things that are negative for one person may be positive for another, and vice versa. It's important to read references carefully and evaluate what that information means to you.

References (90)

90Positive
0Neutral
0Negative

29From Hosts
12From Surfers
16Traveling

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From Jonit Bookheim
Chicago, United States
^{Jun 29, 2010}

Positive

I think I first heard about CouchSurfing from Chris, and I am so excited to finally be signing up and trying it out! Chris is a super-passionate guy who is involved in so many cool things.

From Brian Schwadron
Oakland, United States
^{Oct 27, 2009}

Positive

Chris rocks my world. The amount of energy and passion that he brings to everyday life is joyful in all ways!

From Eric Layman
Euless, United States
^{Oct 19, 2009}

Positive

This guy is one of the most adventurous, down to earth guys I've met in my life.

From Troy Soriano
San Francisco, United States
^{Aug 27, 2009}

Positive

Chris is deep, a good conversationalist and very fun. He can make you laugh and think.

From Monique Couture
Santa Barbara, United States
^{Feb 21, 2009}

Positive

It was a pleasure meeting you! Sorry I didn't end up doing my project on the "Truth of Soy."

From Ruth Koenigsamen
Colorado Springs, United States
^{Jul 23, 2008}

Positive

I happened to get a CS request from Chris the day he was arriving in Colorado. We had a great evening of conversation, good food, and even a bit of sight seeing before the sun went down behind the mountains. We couldn't have been blessed by two more positive young people ready to see and experience and give back to the earth. We were fortunate to get to meet Chris and Ei Ei on this brief but meaningful great summer evening in Colorado Springs. Smart as can be, conversational, kind, and what gentle hearts. Come back, dear ones!

From Garrett Wong
Thousand Oaks, United States
^{May 27, 2008}

Positive

Chris is a terrific guy; kind, friendly and thoughtful. Always looking to help others any way he can.

From Chavathida Thamolsan
Pathum Thani, Thailand
^{Jan 24, 2008}

Positive

Nice to know you are CouchSurfing member,too. I never go to USA but I like to travel in my country.

From Ei Ei Khin
Cupertino, United States
^{Dec 25, 2007}

Positive

Christopher Robin is a gal's bestest friend, even though there were no women other than the two mothers in his namesake's life and he prob would have felt about girls the way Calvin and Hobbes did. This Robin, though, has enriched this Beija Flor's life with his gifts of food, music, stories, and flight. I'd stay with him anytime, esp cuz he's a fab cook.

From Aylin Loğlişi
Istanbul, Turkey
^{Nov 20, 2007}

Positive

What I remember most about meeting Chris was that he smiles a lot, in a very sincere way. He offered me a ride to Montreal, from Brooklyn, before we ever met in person, and that helped to spark a long series of traveling (hitchhiking too!) for me, ever since. I also have this great memory of staying with his aunt and uncle in New Hampshire, and then when we found out that CouchSurfing had crashed, we went on this adrenalized mission to get to the Montreal Collective as soon as possible and bring back CS! (while listening to French lessons from his ipod along the way, you know, since neither of us spoke any French yet)... Chris is really supportive of artists and art, as well as human & animal rights, which is part of what makes him awesome. I'm happy to read updates from him, and he's welcome on my couch any day, as soon as I have one again.

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