CURRENT MISSION

Who am I? Who are you? - Existential questions I want to answer!

ABOUT ME

I am originally from Wisconsin. I love the trees and deep woods that that area has to offer. I went to a small, private liberal arts school near my home known as Lawrence University. I have not left the college atmosphere since the altering experience that Lawrence was for me. I studied higher education administration at Bowling Green State University with hopes to some day be in charge of a student affairs division of some university or a study abroad program (this may seem odd to my foreign friends and with good reason, but the explanation is lengthy, feel free to email me). I am onto my next journey in Portland where I work at Pacific University and live with my new life partner Cassie.

Oh and I love traveling and people, of course. I keep a busy schedule but try to take my summers off. I play and coach rugby. Rugby is my top passion. The culture around the sport is fun and welcoming - just like couchsurfing!

PHILOSOPHY

Greed is the king of sin. - The Avett Brothers

Have Integrity.
Empathize.
Be Positive.

The four agreements: No assuming, No judging, Do your best, and Don't take anything personally.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I hosted a few times while in Ohio and had great experiences. I would love to host, but no one seems to want to come to Forest Grove :( Come visit! We can go wine tasting, hiking to water falls, or check out the coast.

I help build this community by telling of the great hostees I have had and the bright hope I have for my future surfs! I also recommend to fellow travelers that are unaware and how they need to start hosting now!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I worked for my fraternity as a consultant (amazing job, ask and I will tell) for 2 years and lived on couches for 2 different 8 month periods. I would live in one city for about 3-4 days and then move to the next. I never really unpacked my car. Long hard days but it was great to meet so many awesome people and see so much of middle America.

Then I found CouchSurfing and was excited to find a way to continue to surf! Again, I began hosting in Ohio. Had great hostees and even invited a few of them to my wedding. Then I surfed through Europe. Each host was amazing (in particular my friend in France that brought me to a rugby practice).

Now I live Oregon. We hosted two different bikers traveling cross country in the last two years, but since our move to Oregon hosting has been less frequent than we would like as we are in a small town off the beaten path, but I assure you - if you are interested, I will make your stop interesting!

Interests

I play banjo (sorta), rugby, and love to run. I recently ran my eighth marathon (working on number nine and want to run one while touring Europe or Asia). I coach a rugby team at the university I work at and also play for a mens team in Portland.

I love most music sans country. Although I have a special love for bluegrass. Also, electronica!

I also love good drink. Fine wine and beer are a very important part of my life and I have started to brew my own beer. Wine and beer tasting adventures happen frequently.

I also love university life. Hope to someday profess. I am looking at getting into a Ph.D program in 2014 or 2015.

And last but not least I love the girl I have found.

• arts
• culture
• education
• dining
• cooking
• wine
• beer
• wine tasting
• marathon
• running
• coach
• drinking
• traveling
• music
• hiking
• sports
• wrestling
• rugby
• bowling
• teaching
• study abroad
• lakes
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

Music - Bluegrass and electronica top the charts, but I enjoy everything.

Uffie, Daft Punk, Nightmare on Wax, Justice, RJD2, MGMT, The Faint, Junior Boys, The Lushlife Project... to name a few

www.pandora.com for online listening
www.jambase.com for live music finding
www.hypem.com for hard to find music finding

Books - The Four Agreements, 4HWW, books on beer, and leadership stuff.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Marathon. Try it out. There is nothing like 10,000 people lined up for one of the most grueling experiences of their life.

Crater Lake in Oregon. Lakes on tops of mountains are stellar!

Teach, Learn, Share

Great knowledge of American Universities: how to apply, how they work, why they work, how they got this way, and everything in-between. Ask I can help!

I run marathons and can help you develop a training schedule. Or I can just talk about it and how great running can be.

I also know wrestling. Both juijitsu (basics) and American Folkstyle. I play the banjo (basics) and can show you a few things there as well.

Finally, I can show you how rugby works!

My wife and I can cook fairly well (always getting better). Pairing our food with wine/beer is another skill we possess. And now, how to make your own beer!

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, France, Germany, Mexico, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States

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