ABOUT ME

For work, I am a PhD student at EPFL in structural engineering working on robot bridges. I started my PhD in October 2014. I like working on bizarre structures (my masters work was vibration testing of a 21 m aluminium pedestrian bridge). I geek out about bridges and engineering in general, which is fun when I visit a city with lots of bridges.

For my "fun" job I run a swing dancing studio in Lausanne, Switzerland and am VP of the Swing Dance Lausanne association that promotes dance in town. I have travelled the world to go swing dancing in the past 6 years and started DJing for swing dancers in the past 4 years. I love swing jazz music and the history behind it.

I consider myself clean, respectful, and always willing to give a helping hand.

Por qué estoy en Couchsurfing

When I travel, I appreciate the local culture and the real city life. Yes, some places have more monuments and those are cool, but I love finding the places that the local people prefer (parks, coffee shops, neighbourhoods). I find I get the coolest tips from people I stay with. Additionally, being a student still of sorts, I prefer modest accommodations rather than grandiose hotels.

Intereses

I love going outdoors, being active (long distance running, biking, dancing, climbing, curling, yoga, flying trapeze), being musical (flute, piano, guitar, mandolin, and washboard).

• swing dancing
• cooking
• coffee
• yoga
• running
• traveling
• music
• jazz
• guitar
• piano
• cycling
• rock climbing
• engineering
• history

Música, películas y libros

Music:
Modern (ish): Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Muse, ABBA
Vintage Jazz: Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Teddy Powell, Esrkine Hawkins, Sidney Bechet

Movies: The great sci-fi (Star Wars IV-VI, Star Trek(s), Back to the Future), Lord of the Rings, Wes Anderson and Quentin Tarantino movies in general

Books: Lord of the Rings, Gone with the Wind, Charles Darwin's publications, Artie Shaw/Benny Goodman/Count Basie/Duke Ellington's autobiographies, non-fiction books on urban planning/energy, Feynman's publications

Algo increíble que he hecho

I did a cross-US road trip with a great friend of mine from Toronto to Seattle. We camped along the way near the Black Forest, Yellowstone, and in Washington state.

Enseña, aprende, comparte

Teach: I'm always up for teaching or talking about swing jazz history or dance. I can also come up with some pretty cool structural engineering tidbits.

Learn: I consider myself a decent novice cook/baker, but I'm learning to cook some more elaborate dishes from other regions (I have a totally new set of things to try now being in Switzerland). I love to learn by cooking with people, or pulling up recipes on the internet.

Share: I'm a fan of whisky, typically Islay or Japanese scotch-style whisky. I'm always curious to share opinions on different types, the process, or how people came to like whisky. Oh yes, I'm also a huge coffee fan, interested in local roasteries, discussing regional varieties, and preparation style.

Qué puedo ofrecer a los anfitriones

I love sharing music, cooking with my hosts and if I know you're a coffee fan, there's a great roastery just around the corner from my place :D

Países que he visitado

Bulgaria, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Russian Federation, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State, Viet Nam

Países en los que he vivido

Canada, Switzerland