CURRENT MISSION

To "travel for work." (I'm a journalist, so I'm looking for stories that get me the hell away from my desk.)

ABOUT ME

I'm a reporter transplanted from the Midwest into New York City, where I write for the Forward, a Jewish magazine. I'm well-versed in big city life, but I'm equally comfortable in the middle of the wilderness -- I'm not sure I'll ever reconcile those two things. I'm a big consumer of news and investigative reporting, though lately I've been getting back into reading novels, since they're such a nice antidote from the pace of news these days. I enjoy all kinds of music, but I have a special love for jazz, particularly hard bop and spiritual jazz.

PHILOSOPHY

You can't let school get in the way of your education.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

To find places to stay when my reporting work is underfunded, as pretty much all reporting is. Hopefully soon I will get to use Couchsurfing for pleasure travel, but I don't know when that will be.

Interests

• writing
• education
• cooking
• cheese
• news
• woodworking
• music
• jewish
• teaching
• history
• journalism
• languages
• urban history
• magazines

Music, Movies, and Books

Books by Barbara Tuchman, Roberto Bolano, Italo Calvino, Nicole Krauss, Jorge Luis Borges, poems by Anne Carson, Jo Ann Beard, John McPhee, Junot Diaz, Dante, Tolkien.

Music: endless list.

Movies: the last great movie I saw was Wind River.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I once had this desert: stewed prunes on mascarpone cheese. It was incredible.

What I Can Share with Hosts

My good question-asking skills and tidiness.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Canada, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Jordan, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Scotland, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom, Virgin Islands, U.S.

Countries I’ve Lived In

Israel, United States