I am a lover of learning and adventure. In my short life I have traveled to three continents, seven countries, and 19 American states almost entirely independently. I am a musician, an Eagle Scout, and a scholar of Mandarin. I grew up in a rural area, where my mother raised a microfarm full of livestock and produce in our backyard. My favorite things to do when I travel are to absorb and explore the natural landscape. I am a super active traveler, so I love anything that involves a high level of outdoor adventure. When I am in cities I love to relax in local coffee shops and see the different neighborhoods rather than tour the major sites. I am very neat, and when I travel I like to wake up early to make the most out of my day. All I need when surfing someone's couch is a patch of floor on which to lay out my bedroll (and a shower).

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I am on Couchsurfing because I find that the best travel is done frugally. Staying in a hotel isolates a traveler and stops him/her from being immersed in the local area. Meeting people, sharing interests, going on excursions, and even practicing language skills are advantages that I think Couchsurfing offers, and I would love to reap those benefits.

Interests

My chief career interests are foreign policy and Mandarin Chinese. In a similar vein, I also am very interested in foreign culture and language of all kinds. Other than that, I love to serve my world and community (or other peoples' communities), and I love to play music (saxophone, drum kit, bass, guitar). I'm a huge outdoorsman, I like to keep active as much as possible, and I'm also very interested in men's fashion as well as cooking.

• culture
• fashion
• education
• cooking
• coffee
• traveling
• socializing
• music
• guitar
• outdoor activities
• surfing
• rock climbing
• teaching

Music, Movies, and Books

I chiefly enjoy jazz music, but I also like genres such as folk, alternative, indie, rock, acoustic, and so on. I am not a regular viewer of films, but my favorites are travel documentaries like "180 Degrees South". In terms of television, I enjoy dramas such as "Breaking Bad", "Mad Men", and "House of Cards", as well as comedies like "Parks and Recreation". I do not find a lot of time to read, but some of my favorite long form works include Kerouac's "On the Road" and Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby". I also like short form literature such as spoken word poetry.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

One amazing thing I've done happened very recently, in fact. I woke up at 1:30 in the morning to climb Mount Lafayette in New Hampshire with two people I had never met before. We were climbing to see the fall foliage against the sunrise, but ended up getting snowed on in the first week of October, with fifty mile per hour winds hitting us for the entire time we were above the tree line. When we walked into the Appalachian Trail thru-hikers' hut after coming down from the summit, all of the people who had just woken up looked at us, covered in ice and snow, like we were crazy; apparently it was pretty dangerous. After lunch, we then went ahead and climbed another mountain to get a taste of the beautiful foliage we originally set out for, all on two and a half hours sleep, amazingly.

Teach, Learn, Share

As somebody who's only eighteen years old, I've been associated with education my entire life; that being said, I absolutely love to learn, and I love to help others learn as well. Obviously with Couchsurfing this learning is less about being in a classroom and more about having unique and educational experiences.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I have a wide variety of interests that I'd be excited to share with any host who is mutually interested. I am all about cooking meals together, exchanging travel stories, playing some music, giving language lessons, exploring nature/the city, et cetera. I am willing to help enrich the days of my hosts in any capacity that they desire, all they have to do is ask.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, China, Croatia, Italy, Puerto Rico, Saint Martin (French part), Sint Maarten (Dutch part), United States, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States