Feel free to find me on LinkedIn or Facebook too :)

Good day!

I'm a Graduate Researcher at UC Berkeley traveling up and down California's west coast with two research colleagues for vacation. We come from a wide range of cultural backgrounds - Persian, South Asian, Latin American - representing a good quarter of the world! We have professional experience in renewable energy sectors domestically and abroad. and are passionate about our future and finding a sustainable means of preserving our planet. We come from community - and are relaxed, respectful, and love to learn about the world through the lens of the people we meet. We're excited to meet you, and look forward to sharing a cup of tea :)

A bit more about me:

I research California's bioenergy sector at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and study Energy Policy at the Goldman School.
I'm a musician, and produced my first EP, Paradise, a few years back: jahonmusic.bandcamp.com
I love food and Persian cooking - having studied urban agriculture, farmed, and worked with several community gardens.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Unlike AirBnB, hotels, hostels, renting, etc., Couchsurfing rejects the formation of monetary and service based relationships by encouraging its users to create meaningful, local friendships and share experiences, meals, and stories. This form of social reunion is reminiscent of several earlier human societies that prioritized community building for personal fulfillment, but also survival. Despite the integration of technology in our every day lives, it seems individuals are distancing themselves from one another. I find Couchsurfing one of few technological mediums capable of breaking down the xenophobia and racism of global capitalism by propagating a new social mode and way of being.

Interests

Languages! Accent! Expression! Recently Castilian, soon Farsi!
Music! I play and compose and love to listen.
Politics! Like to stay up to date on those powers deciding our lives.
Hegemony! Heteronormativity? Neo-liberalism? Neo-malthusianism? Neo-colonialism??!! You got it!
Spirituality and the plague of Nihilism! What are we? Why are we here? What is reality? They didn´t do all that yoga and meditation for nothing you know!

• yoga
• meditation
• gardening
• politics
• music
• outdoor activities
• agriculture
• forestry
• languages

Music, Movies, and Books

Onda Vaga
No Te Va Gustar
Perota Chingo
Gustavo Cerati

Vice
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
The Truman Show
Narcos

Los Nacimientos - Galeano
A People's History of the United States - Zinn
A Brief History of Neoliberalism - Harvey
El Diaro del Che en Bolivia - Guevara
Las Venas Abiertas de America Latina - Galeano

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Moment of silence in Prague for Vaclav Havel´s passing.
Youth street mob in Oslo
Metro party in Copenhagen
Fishing with villagers of Mompiche
Hitching a ride with 10 others in the back of a blue truck.
Fleeing Turrialba during the Volcano's eruption

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Norway, Panama, Peru, Poland, Russian Federation, Sweden, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Argentina, Australia, Denmark, United States