Howdy,

My name's Benjamin, currently a 25 y/o English teaching assistant in the Parisian suburbs. I'm from the United States but with the current political climate, am very happy to be in a different country ;)

In the United States my family lives in Austin, TX, though before that we lived in Boston, MA.. and before than San Francisco, before that Charlotte DC, and I was born in Washington DC! A very rare transnational-American identity.

I'm very fortunate to be teaching in Paris these days. My program is not very demanding, and so I try to visit new places as often as I can. Not really eligible to host as I live in a simple flat on the school's campus (no couch to host people on!) but I like the community here and find it to be a nice way to travel and meet people. However, I leave town pretty often and you could use my bed if I'm not there, though otherwise there's not much option to host.

I studied in Nantes for a university semester, for some reason I can't update where I live, but I'm currently in Paris.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Meeting people is the best and easiest way to learn about the world. To travel and interact with others is to improve your sense of empathy, identity and values. Life is good, and better with other people in it :)

Overall my values are to be constantly open and curious, so I have lots of interests ranging from cooking to literature, music and film. Mostly I just like listening to people talking about what THEY like. I'm a respectful, normal person, who likes adventures and exploring what I don't yet know.

Interests

• literature
• cooking
• music
• basketball
• film

Music, Movies, and Books

I know it's lame to say but I really like all forms of music. This morning I'm listening to Mary Lou Williams, who was a famous jazz pianist in Kansas City, mostly in the between war periods. Last night I was listening to American hip hop from Atlanta, and some techno from France. There's good music everywhere, and to be overly selective is to miss out.

Recently I was in Lisbon and discovered Fado and now I'm hooked

I read mostly American authors: Don Delilo, Franzen, DFW, JCO, Toni Morrison. Currently reading the french graphic novel L'arabe de Futur, Raïd Sattouf. Also into poetry, recently buying a book of Lorca with spanish/Portuguese translations.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

In 2015 I went on a big bike tour from Nantes to Bordeaux, then Barcelona to Aix, then Lille to Amsterdam.

In 2018 I quit my job at Faebook and moved to rural New Hampshire (no internet, no cell phone service) and made maple syrup

After this teaching year I plan to go on another big bike tour, from Rome to Istanbul.

Teach, Learn, Share

I'm all about cultural exchange and the learning that comes from communication with each other. Empathy and the human experience

What I Can Share with Hosts

I'm a good guy. You host me and I'll get the first round

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, England, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, Israel, United States