CURRENT MISSION

Meet people from all over the world

ABOUT ME

Well, where to start, I enjoy riding bikes and any athletic activity - but of course swimming, biking and running, herbal tea, reading and learning new things, eating huge salads (I am a vegan after all :)

My latest endeavor was to compete in Ironman France in Nice, was in June 2009, I had been training since summer 2008, but just before the race I was injured and wont be able to swim the 3.8km :( now i am rehabbing slowly...

I think I know Chicago very very well, I grew up in the suburbs but now I live in Lincoln Park. I'm always excited to meet new people hear their travel stories! What else? I commute to work by car, its about 30 miles away, but I have a flexible schedule to meet-up after work generally for a bar/museum/coffee/leisurely stroll etc...

PHILOSOPHY

You only live once!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Hosting exciting travelers and hopefully showing them the best time in Chicago! or at least what people have been saying in their references haha.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

In Sept 2008 my couch became available - before that I lived with roommates who didn't "get" couchsurfing. But I have spent time with many couchsurfers via my friend Jon hosting many many groups.

In June 2008 I Hosted Marine and Eric for a night at the last minute because they were left without a host (due to weather keeping his plane from taking off). We hung out all day in Chicago and I helped them plan the rest of their trip through America.

Hosted:
starting in Sept. 2008
Eric & Marine (Concarnou & Nantes, France)
Olga & Alex (Moscow)
Diego (Madrid, Spain)
Robbie (Charmouth, England)

2009
Mickael (Paris, France)
Berenice & Dorot (Northern France)
Ben (Slovenia but currently in Germany)
Marco (Livorno, Italia)
Elad (Tel Aviv, Israel)
Freddie (Philly)
Petter & Ida (Sweden)
Bryan (Tel Aviv, Israel)
Mickael (Paris) First Repeat Surfer, 10 days total this trip!
Dasha & Roman (Moscow)
Jerome (Lyon, France)
Natalie (Melbourne)

2010
Alessandro (Italy)
Alisha & Kelsey (Kansas)
Sarah & Tina (Berlin)
Mickael (Paris) 3rd time with me!!
Silvina (Argentina)
Shlomo (New York/Israel)
Daniel (San Diego)
Maria (Scotland) & Elizabeth (Austria)
Sean (Singapore)
Georgiy and Muktar (Kazakhstan)
Megan (Perth)
Danny (Springfield)
Krista & Romel (San Jose)
Jose (Madrid)
Lilach (Tel Aviv)
Angelo (Philly)
Lauren (Raleigh)
Roberto (Padua)
Simon (Paris)

2011
Lindsy (Wisconsin, but now Chicago!)
Maybe you???

Interests

Going on "adventures" - it could be anything from wandering around Chicago to visiting a museum to flying across an ocean. I need to do new things everyday.

Bike riding around the city, eating vegan donuts, exercising daily - i can take you on a run in the city! who's up for a 6-miler (or for all you metric users- 6 miles = 9.656064 kilometers)

• coffee
• vegan
• exercise
• triathlon
• marathon
• running
• walking
• flying
• reading
• traveling
• socializing
• guitar
• cycling
• skiing
• swimming
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

Playing Guitar & Bass, listening to music - my new favorite band is Pnuma Trio, Pretty Lights, Subliminal and the Shadow, Herbie Hancock, Phish, Pink Floyd, Israeli artists Mosh Ben Ari, Idan Raichel, Parliament Funkadelic, Moses Mayes, Negramaro, Air, John Brown's Body and 10 Ft. Ganja Plant (dub reggae), I like to read - my favorite authors are Malcolm Gladwell, Hunter S. Thompson and Kurt Vonnegut.

Currently reading: "60 million frenchman cant be wrong", "Outliers", "Great White Shark Hunt", "Great Travel Writing from 2008"

Anything that changes your perception of the world, but also Wes Anderson, City of God and Food Matters -

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Finishing a really tough Marathon in Big Sur California on April 26...i came in 961st place! yay!

Going skiing in Zermatt, Switzerland, on the Matterhorn Glacier, the day suddenly turned awful (and quite dangerous since it was a complete white-out) by accident I got on the wrong gondola, and ended up in Cervina, Italy...it was fun nonetheless

Did my first triathlon in Los Angeles in Feburary 2009, and in april 2009 did the Big Sur Marathon - both are helping me gear up for the Ironman...I also did an amazing 35mile bike ride in LA along the coast line from Redondo Beach to Long Beach, took 3 hours because i kept stopping to take amazing pictures.

Realizing that I LIVE in Florence, Italy (when I studied abroad there in 2005). Or sitting on a train to Torino, and speaking Italian to a local girl the whole time. I was very proud of my accomplishment (although I had to pull my dictionary out a few times)

Or walking around Oslo in May 2005, and the sun still shining at 11pm - and looking like it was 3pm! One of the best things I did in Norway was take the Train from Oslo to Bergen (while getting off to do the Flam railway and then a Fjord cruise) it was an unbelievable experience that I think everyone should do - some of the best 8 hours of my life!!

Or going to a 15th century bar in Bruges, Belgium.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach some guitar to someone, but of course I can describe the inner-workings of how retailers in the USA buy products from abroad; from the conception of the idea, to the development of the product, to the consumer walking out of the store and putting it into your home.

If you are looking to do something outside chicago there is a nice drive down Sheridan Road, heading north...it's a very beautiful drive and something I would highly recommend!

Countries I’ve Visited

Aruba, Belgium, China, Czech Republic, France, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

Italy, United States

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