Tim Zheng's Photo

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  • Last login about 3 years ago

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Overview

  • 58 references 43 Confirmed & Positive
  • Fluent in English; learning Spanish
  • 39, Male
  • Member since 2012
  • (human (being) human)
  • Bachelors - Economics, Philosophy
  • From New York, NY, USA
  • Profile 100% complete

About Me

CURRENT MISSION

get used to getting lost

ABOUT ME

I could try to write a bunch of interesting things here, but wouldn't going through the rest of my profile (and photos) be a lot more entertaining? Since my first trip to Europe in 2008, travel has become an important part of my life - it was a big part of why I decided to give up my old career on Wall Street, to take a sabbatical to see (more of) the world. Now I'm mostly just trying to maintain a semi-charmed, semi-retired life where I can balance the expectations of society with my expectations of myself.

https://www.facebook.com/tz.nyc

PHILOSOPHY

Studied a lot of philosophy, so I should have some quotes, but I like the simple ones so I'll say: live and let live, nothing's impossible, you never know, it could always be worse, never stop learning.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Started this profile from an iPhone when I was camping near Lake Tahoe in California, then spent the next two months surfing across the US. Since then I've gone to some events, hosted, spread the good word, and even applied for a job. While any potential future employment remains to be seen, I've thoroughly enjoyed the experience

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

How could I ever express the gratitude I have for all of my wonderful hosts in 20+ cities, or how lucky I feel to have hosted 100+ of the coolest travelers from dozens of countries from all over the world? Or how about the 1,000+ memories I only could've had with some of the most interesting people I've ever met?

So I say - a lot, but not enough!

Interests

Like most people, my list of interests is a whole conversation by itself. Standard stuff - Culture, local and foreign. Photography. Food of course. Snowboarding is big for me. Science, nature and all that good stuff (and the bad too). Non-standard stuff? Of course I have some of those as well, but they're best communicated during an actual conversation

  • culture
  • photography
  • dining
  • cooking
  • traveling
  • guitar
  • camping
  • hunting
  • surfing
  • scuba diving
  • snowboarding
  • languages
  • science

Music, Movies, and Books

Some of the regulars on my playlist are: The Clash, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sublime, Social Distortion, Smashing Pumpkins and the Talking Heads. I'll basically listen to any classic rock, blues, reggae/ska, funk and whatever else (country, heavy-metal, and even pop included) pleases my eardrums the right way.

My favorite directors are Woody Allen, Terry Gilliam, Michelangelo Antonioni, Stanley Kubrick (and other film-school regulars like Welles, Hitchcock, Bergman, etc), current guys like Aronofsky, Fincher, Sam Raimi, the Coen brothers, Tarantino, Danny Boyle, et al. My DVD collection has black and white oldies, so-bad-they're-good horrors and comedies, foreign films and too many more

My bookshelf has standards like Kerouac, Salinger, Orwell, Huxley, Palahniuk and the like, as well as a mix of nonfiction (from both during and after university) - Western / Eastern philosophy and some physics textbooks (of the theoretical kind). Also, can't forget comics / graphic novels like: Garth Ennis' "Preacher," Battle Royale (also one of my favorite novels, and films), X-Men of course, etc.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

This world is too amazing to list just one... Stood at the top of a mountain during a blizzard. Backpacked half of Europe. Drove over 23,000 km around the US over three months. Watched shooting stars, fell 70m through a canyon on a rope-swing, jumped out of a plane and dove through the sky in New Zealand (all within a week). Jumped and danced with Maasai tribesmen in Kenya. Shared the sea with sharks, turtles, and a manta ray during a scuba dive in Indonesia. Met, laughed, and bonded with incredible and inspiring people every step of the way.

visited 55 countries (28.50%)Create your own visited map of The World

visited 45 states (90%)Create your own map of The United States

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach a few things ranging from the boring to the quirky, such as basic guitar technique or how to solve a Rubik's Cube.

There are plenty of things I'd like to learn, including but not limited to - advanced guitar technique, new cooking tips, or bits of other languages.

Can share knowledge gained from the world around me - be it from working, traveling, meeting or greeting.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, China, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Laos, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Norway, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Scotland, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Vatican City State, Wales

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States

Old School Badges

  • 3 Vouches

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