CURRENT MISSION

Travel around the World to see interesting places, cultures, meet people, share experiences and learn from them! Life to the fullest!

ABOUT ME

I'm 30 and I am from São José do Rio Preto, countryside of São Paulo State, Brazil. After spending a year in California (St. Helena, Napa Valley) as a Rotary Exchange Student in 2006-2007, I moved to Curitiba to study Tourism Management at UFPR (Federal University of Parana) and worked as a Marketing and Social Media Analyst.

In February of 2012 I quit my job to travel around South America (Peru, Bolivia and Chile – March/2012) and backpacked around Europe for 3 months by myself (June, July and August of 2012) and got to go to Germany, Norway, Sweden, Austria, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Hungary, Slovakia, Czeck Republic, Poland, Spain, Italy, England, Ireland and Scotland.
I got to see interesting places, cultures, meet lots of people, share experiences and learn! It was an amazing experience and I plan to do it again!

Back in Brasil after my travelings, I moved back to Curitiba and got my Master's Degree in Tourism and Development at Universidade Federal do Paraná - UFPR as a researcher of the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), where I developed a social media mining process in social to support tourist destinations management.

After that, I moved back to my hometown (São José do Rio Preto-SP) and I'm currently working as a Local Inovation Agent and Researcher in a technical cooperation project agreed between Sebrae (Brazilian Micro and Small Enterprises Service Support) and CNPq to promote innovation activities in small businesses to enhance competitiveness and capacity to innovate in products (goods and services), process, marketing and organizational methods.

I also have a travel blog (in portuguese)where I share travel information, tips, experiences, photos, etc. I GET AROUND Travel Blog - http://www.guimendesthomaz.com if you want to check it out :)

PHILOSOPHY

"Life to the fullest!"

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have CouchSurfed in Oslo, Gdansk, Amsterdam, Brussel, Paris, Budapest, Krakow, Madrid and here in Brazil in Caxias do Sul and Fortaleza. It is an amazing experience and I really enjoy!

Interests

I'm very interested in new cultures, languages, arts, sports, local and responsable travel, gastronomy, partying, beer, soccer, meeting new people, sharing experiences and learning from them! Besides the famous tourist highlights I like to experience the city like a local!

• arts
• beer
• partying
• traveling
• socializing
• blogging
• hiking
• backpacking
• surfing
• snowboarding
• sports
• soccer
• swimming
• business
• communications
• languages
• tourism
• beaches

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

- Backpacking around Europe for 3 months by myself visiting 16 countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, England, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Scotland, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden.
- Hiking up to Waynapicchu and see Machu Picchu from up there.
- Hiking around Isla del Sol, Bolivia and swim on the clear and cold water of Lake Titicaca.
- Hiking Grand Cannyon all the way down and up in the same day.
- Sandboarding in Atacama Desert with huge volcanos with snow on the top. It was crazy!
- Snowboarding in Lake Tahoe, CA. First time seeing snow and snowboarding.
- Roadtrip from California to Colorado
- Surfing in Hawaii
- Swimming with Dolphinns at Pipa Beach, Rio Grande do Norte - Brazil.

Teach, Learn, Share

I really think we can teach and learn something important from everyone by sharing experiences, stories and goodtimes. Life and travel experiences are the best school!

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Czech Republic, England, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

Brazil, United States