CURRENT MISSION

generally: to lead a life of perspective and purpose. specifically: fumbling around trying to find the right way for me to see the world and to make a difference (not very specific, I know)

ABOUT ME

I'm a 3rd/4th generation Chinese American Muslim convert who loves the natural world and likes to move around a lot but not so fast that I overlook the little things.

PHILOSOPHY

People do little miraculous kindnesses for each other every day, and at the same time people around the globe inflict unspeakable atrocities upon each other. Sometimes I'm not sure what to make of that. I guess I'm still struggling with it. But it seems to me, that if we choose to face the ugly side of humanity, humbly but resolutely, then we not only earn the requisite self-respect to be at peace with ourselves, but we also gain the perspective necessary to really appreciate the beautiful side of humanity, those little miracles worked in ordinary quiet lives.
I really don't know. Like I said, I'm still struggling to make sense of it.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

For now I'm traveling across the western states on my way to Gallup, NM where I hope to pick up ideas for a novel I'm writing. Afterwards I might end up settling down for a year or two somewhere in the middle east.

Interests

Literature, writing fiction, photography (want a Digital SLR SO badly), the natural world and its history, the environment and its/our future, economics, American foreign policy in the Middle East.
(I am more of a student of all these things, and most definitely not an expert in any of them)

• writing
• books
• literature
• photography
• environment
• traveling
• economics
• history

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I've lived in Lebanon and Egypt, and I lived half a year the city of Nablus in the West Bank where I taught English to kids in the refugee camps for a Canadian NGO called Project Hope.

Countries I’ve Visited

Israel, Jordan, Syrian Arab Republic

Countries I’ve Lived In

Egypt, Lebanon, Palestine, United States

•