Hi everyone, I'm Alex! After years of grinding through stress and school and stress and work and stress, I realized that I forgot WHY I was working in the first place. You work to make a living, NOT make a living to work. I decided to take a few months off and use some of my savings to reconnect with myself and travel around Europe, something that I've wanted to do for many years. This continent is rich with history, perfect for a history nerd like myself.

I think that people are very interesting, and I would love to learn about other cultures. Staying only within your native culture sounds so boring! So let's meet up and swap stories, ideas, and philosophies!

I like to cook, and wouldn't hestitate to share my stories and culture through food! :D

I haven't had a chance yet to host anybody (since I just discovered and joined CS while in Europe), but when I get back to the US I plan on hosting as much as possible!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

The world is a book; each country, a chapter. I'd like to read this book and meet as many characters as I can. I love to meet people and learn about different cultures. That's probably the most cliche answer I could have given, but it's the honest-to-god truth.

Interests

Anything outdoors (camping, hiking, backpacking, rock climbing, orienteering; if I haven't tried it yet, I'd love to try everything at least once!). Kayak fishing (actually, fishing in general. Kayak fishing just happens to be my latest obsession). I love to read, all genres. I'm an OG Star Wars fan (meaning I walked around with a lightsaber in my backpack throughout the entire 3rd grade). Motorcycles (cruisers, dirt bikes, dual sports, crotch rockets. I've owned 3 out of those 4).

• photography
• beer
• off-roading
• reading
• outdoor activities
• fishing
• hiking
• backpacking
• camping
• food
• nature
• muay thai
• hanging out
• sea kayaking

Music, Movies, and Books

I like all kinds of music. From all of the American genres, to folk music from different countries. Music is as diverse as the people and places where it comes from. It's always interesting to listen to traditional music played on traditional instruments from the region.

As for movies, I love any genre of movie... as long as it has a good story to tell. I'll watch any genre, but I prefer suspense. Action movies are great too, but these days they are just a bunch of explosions and CGI. Suspense movies are action movies with a story and background and character depth. Movies like Shutter Island, Inception, Lawless, Unbreakable, The Imitation Game, The Theory of Everything are on my favorite list.

I like all books, I think that reading really expands your mind. Personally, I'm not into the "young adult" books like the Twilight books; but to each his own (too cheesy for me). I like fictions as well as non-fictions. I like to learn about the histories of countries and their politics/economics/wars, but sometimes I also like to immerse myself in a fictional universe and get lost in the story. I love Star Wars, so I'd like to read every single books about it (I haven't read them all yet), but I also really enjoy suspenseful mysteries.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Handed out sandals to local kids in an Afghan village that had no electricity.

There are a few more amazing things, but I'll share those during my stay. :)

Teach, Learn, Share

If there's something that I know and you don't and you'd like to learn, I'll teach you. I like to show people new things and experiences, and I like to learn new things from other people. Life should be an on-going learning process.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Amazing (in my mind anyways) stories, laughs, thoughts, food (I love to cook)

Countries I’ve Visited

Afghanistan, Belgium, Belize, Egypt, Germany, Iceland, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Portugal, Spain, Thailand, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States