Hello! I am Ashwin Datta, a native of a west suburb of Portland, Oregon, seasonally living in Boston, Massachusetts. I was born and raised in Northwest Oregon.
I am very passionate about the outdoors, travelling, engineering/tech culture, cooking, and politics. I'm a student pursuing a bachelors degree in environmental engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, from which I hope to graduate from in 2021.
In the outdoors, I enjoy hiking (usually on mountains), skiing, cycling long-distances, and swimming in rivers and lakes.
I am into environmental engineering (my major) as well as entrepreneurship.
I am a foodie and love cooking and food in general.
I am a 20-year-old student who is excited about making the world a better place and exploring many diverse things that life has to offer!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I love meeting new people, cooking for them and hearing their stories and perspectives on life and the world! I love learning, and I believe that humans tend to learn the most from direct interactions and experiences with each other.

Interests

• flying
• motorcycles
• cycling
• hiking
• mountaineering
• skiing
• indie music
• indie rock
• motorcycling

Music, Movies, and Books

I love indie music, especially indie pop, psychadelic rock and indie rock. But I also listen to hip hop, country and classic rock.
I am a fan of science-fiction movies, but will watch most movies as long as they aren't horror or romance movies.
As for my book affinity, it would align closely with my movie preferences.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I just completed a 9-day motorcycle ride across the country from Boston, MA to Portland, OR. It was a wonderful way to see the country and one highlight of the trip was my first couchsurfing experience!
Another exciting thing I did when I was a kid: I had learned about the Sandy Glacier Caves, located on Mt. Hood's NW flank. These caves were rapidly melting, but were only recently discovered and said to be the longest glacier caves in the lower 48 states. I knew I had to see them.
I made three attempts to reach them. On the third attempt, on June 21st, 2016, I reached the caves. The journey involved a six-mile hike followed by a two-mile off-trail traverse across a canyon, glacier and snowfield. Now the caves have mostly melted and collapsed so I was glad I made it up there when I did.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach a few skills, including basic things about the German language, the outdoors, cooking, music (especially piano, also guitar, trumpet, and french horn). I tutor in my spare time as a side job, so I enjoy regularly teaching new skills.
I hope to learn new skills and ideas from people I meet through experiences and communication.
I hope to share my skills and culture while learning about the culture of my hosts and the local region they live in!

What I Can Share with Hosts

I enjoy cooking, so I will certainly offer my cooking services to hosts to help them out and share experiences with them. I would love to share my love for cooking with my hosts. I can also play some music, and enjoy telling stories and sightseeing.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Bahamas, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Romania, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, United States, United States Minor Outlying Islands, Virgin Islands, British

Countries I’ve Lived In

India, United States