CURRENT MISSION

Redefining the world of travel as a family of 4

ABOUT ME

The best way to learn about my wife and I (and our girls) would be to visit our blog at www.jooanddaniel.blogspot.com, I'm a very free-spirited traveler who has wandered through 48 countries and had his best experiences in the homes of local residents everywhere. Coupling that fact with my frugal nature, I love the idea of opting for hospitable couches and new friends over sterile hotel rooms!

PHILOSOPHY

This has been a question I have hit hard over the past few years. I was raised in a Mennonite Community (a small sect within the Christian church), but had many Buddhist, and general spiritualist experiences in my travels which were very inspiring. I'm now working on a synthesis of everything in a very peaceful, relaxed way... to summarize, very open-minded.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Right now I am just a rookie eager to absorb various perspectives and ideals of the project. I'm sure I will find that many of them resonate with the values I formed throughout all my recent world travels!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Although I've had only a small handful of official "couchsurfing experiences", I have been welcomed in by many beautiful families along my travels. Most notably was an Indian mountain tribe in the poorest state of Orissa where I lived off and on for about five months and became quite close with the family and larger community. In terms of hosting, my wife and I got a home less than a year ago and since then it has become a sort of small intentional community.

Interests

Guitar, TRAVEL, piano, ultimate frisbee, poetry, LANGUAGES, the Office, photography, music, salsa dancing, rural math education, cooking/baking

• poetry
• photography
• dancing
• salsa dancing
• education
• cooking
• baking
• traveling
• blogging
• music
• guitar
• piano
• teaching
• languages
• mathematics

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: Dead Poet's Society, Beautiful Mind, Good Will Hunting, Les Choristes, Requiem for a Dream, Dick and Jane, Amelie, Baraka
Music: COUNTING CROWS!, Bob Dylan, Eels, Jack Johnson, Ben Harper, Mumford and Sons, Kim Kwan Seok, Bright Eyes, Nickel Creek, Angus and Julia
Books: I haven't been reading quite as much recently, but I like general travel-type books, classical literature, or anything that makes for an interesting read in the bathroom

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

My best friend and I were travelling India together... we went our separate ways for a short time... within two weeks, he contracted cerebral malaria and I caught typhoid fever, both while stranded in respective remote mountain regions. Surviving those and reuniting was a beautiful lesson in death, life, and friendship.

Teach, Learn, Share

Teach: Spanish, Korean, Guitar, Korean cooking, Frisbee, Math, Go Stop
Learn: Other languages, random cultural peculiarities, cooking, dance, unique games

What I Can Share with Hosts

We'd love to share Korean culture and perhaps cooking (depending on what ingredients are available in your area). We're also a family that loves to sing, dance, laugh, and play!

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Czech Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Finland, France, Germany, Honduras, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Laos, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Netherlands, Panama, Peru, Poland, Russian Federation, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Argentina, Guatemala, India, South Korea, Thailand, United States

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