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LAST UPDATE:
April 21, 2024
NOW:
江苏南京 - Nanjing, Jiangsu
SOON:
Hangzhou, Zhejiang
Shanghai
Guangzhou, Guangdong
Hong Kong
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My friend, a previous CS host of mine, insisted I choose a better profile picture, and this one satisfied him. I'm really bad at smiling "naturally" for the camera.

我就是不上相啊，沒辦法，請見諒

我目前在美國史丹佛（陆词：斯坦福）大學讀資工系（陆词：计算机专业）的學士學位（陆词：本科），不過我大一（2022-23）拿到了美國國務院的獎學金2023年6月去台灣上進階的中文課，然後下定決心接下來要休學出來長期旅行幾年，多看看世界，反正之後回去史丹佛全額獎學金一樣還在。

我是相當貧窮、教育資源比較薄弱社區出來的孩子，現在也沒有家人了，所以目前正在滿足自己的好奇心。

I'm working on my bachelor's degree in computer science from Stanford University in California, hoping to become the first in my family to earn a university degree after being the first in my family to have the opportunity to attend high school.

Some people assume that, if I'm at a private university, I must have money, but my parents were factory workers who didn't speak English and did their best to raise us while helping our family back in Cuba. I am lucky and grateful to be able to attend university on full scholarship.

I've decided to take at least a couple of years off from school to explore more of the world because seeing more of the world is more important to me than securing a high-paying job.

I aim to travel as slowly as possible because what is important is *not* the *number* of places you visit but instead what you actually experience, observe, and contribute while you are there.

I've spent most of my adulthood between these cities:
🇺🇸 New York
🇫🇷 Paris
🇦🇺 Melbourne
🇹🇼 Taipei
🇨🇳 Shanghai

...and shorter periods (months, not years) in:
🇮🇳 India
🇹🇭 Thailand
🇯🇵 Japan
🇭🇰 Hong Kong
🇲🇽 Mexico
🇧🇪 Belgium
🇹🇷 Turkiye

之後可能會在亞洲發展。

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I've met some of my best friends on Couchsurfing.

Interests

cinnamon (rolls)

D*U*R*I*A*N

• writing
• cooking
• wine
• chinese food
• cheese
• traveling
• computer science
• hitchhiking
• language exchange
• travel
• food
• travelling
• chinese
• travels
• exploring
• china
• foodie
• turkey
• taiwan
• french
• hitch-hiking
• turkish food
• languages and cultures
• cuba
• vegetables
• hitch hiking
• chinese culture
• travelling around the world
• hitchiking
• cuban music
• turkish
• french language
• explore new places
• hitchhike
• cooking and eating
• silicon valley
• taiwanese food
• cooking with friends
• cooking together
• taiwanese

Music, Movies, and Books

I listen to a lot of different genres of music and music in different languages, from Bon Iver to 蘇打綠 to Bad Bunny.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Honestly, I'm not really looking for the extraordinary in life. I'm not trying to take selfies in front of every Instagram-worthy monument. I'm looking to see, understand, and feel the ordinary--different hues of ordinary.

To answer the question, though: I'm not sure how amazing this is, but wrapping organic chocolate on my feet, one bar at a time, for eight to ten hours a day (no headphones allowed) while wearing a lab coat and a hair net in Melbourne was something of an experience. (Photographic evidence available upon request.). That experience did at least give me a lot of time to think and reassess some things in my life.

Teach, Learn, Share

I'd be happy to talk about food, history, or languages (Mandarin, Spanish, French, English), though I'm still learning about all of them myself.

Please teach me things. I'm really bad at a lot of things.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I probably enjoy hearing stories more than most people do, which motivates me to do my best in telling good ones myself, even if I usually fail.

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, China, Croatia, Cuba, Denmark, Egypt, England, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, Montenegro, Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, China, France, Taiwan, United States

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