Insta: https://www.instagram.com/lucid_lefty/

(Pics of me in all 70+ countries & territories I've visited are in my uploaded photos)

I'm an avid traveler, traveling heavily each year since I was 19 (so, over a decade!). I've been to over 70 countries/territories and all 50 of the US states (plus 4 of the 5 territories - just American Samoa left to go!). Central America, Asia, the Middle East, and the Caribbean are my favorite regions, but each part of the world is unique in its own way. My favorite time to travel is over New Years (both internationally and domestic), Halloween, as well as the extended US holiday periods, i.e. 4th of July or Labor Day weekend (for domestic excursions).

I'm a musician (bassist) and was a founder of a touring death metal band in my previous life. I no longer pursue music professionally, but music is still a big part of my life. I play casually now (I perform and organize at least 1 show per year with friends for fun, usually covering specific eras or styles of music with twists such as medleys thrown in), and I also attend upwards of 80 concerts/festivals a year (both locally as well as in my travels).

I attend certain major events each year (past ones have included Songkran in Thailand, Burning Man in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada, Coachella, and Junkanoo in the Bahamas), which helps feed into the travel bug. Fantasy Fest and traveling to different Caribbean islands for their respective Carnivals are my new favorite events to chase. I also love using certain music tours/events/etc as excuses and opportunities to also travel somewhere new (sometimes it gets a bit boring watching bands come through to the same old venues year after year in your own home city). ALSO, I've developed a hobby of collecting a massive amount of metal/punk/etc records during my travels. Secondarily, I've also developed an obsessive hobby of making cold brew at home using beans I've collected from all my travels (I will forever defend this method of brewing coffee as the best - nothing else comes close!)

The most significant periods of time spent away from home included studying abroad in Japan for 4 months (lived in Yokohama, studied in Tokyo - one of the best experiences of my life), living in Jerusalem to work a summer internship (3 months), and Couchsurfing for almost 2 months in the Dominican Republic (where I really started to get better with Spanish). I'm a hybrid remote worker/digital nomad at times, and am a big fan of learning about a place or culture by staying for longer periods and living temporarily as a local to truly live a day in the life. In my travels, my favorite hostel brand (and possibly only place with brand loyalty) is Selina, which incorporates coworking as part of its concept.

Now that I've hit all of the US states, my current travel goals/priorities include seeing all provinces and territories of my neighboring countries of Canada and Mexico (where I've made significant dents in both). After recently hitting all Central American countries (a previous goal), I am now shifting to hitting all of the Caribbean islands (I've hit around half - the lower Antilles region is where I still need to see a lot).

To cap everything off, I enjoy learning about new cultures, taking a stab at new languages (used to be pretty decent at Japanese, but am a bit rusty now; Spanish is my new love language, and I learned some Hebrew growing up), and meeting people from all over the world. The experiences I've had through travel have shaped me in positive ways and given me outlooks I would never have had previously. I yearn to continue this path of frequent travel to see and learn more about our world.

FAVORITE PLACES IN THE WORLD: Tokyo (and Japan in general), Israel, Bocas Del Toro (Panama), The Bahamas, Florida (particularly the west coast, Miami, and The Keys), Mexico 😊

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I am on Couchsurfing for the same reason many other people are: to meet people along my travels (since I travel solo frequently), but also for the karma of paying it forward. I like to keep my travel as open and flexible as possible, and frequently extend trips, so it's nice to be able to meet other likeminded travelers along the way, while also avoiding unnecessary and costly fees associated with some hotels and AirBnBs. I don't expect anything or have any standards with this platform, but I am open and willing to provide the same for travelers coming to my home city of Philadelphia.

Interests

• writing
• concerts
• nightlife
• reading
• music
• travel
• gaming
• bass guitar
• ufos
• vinyl record collecting

Music, Movies, and Books

Favorite music artists: Iron Maiden, Green Day, X Japan, Helloween, Unleash the Archers, Angra, Anthrax, Def Leppard, Motley Crue, Zedd, Seventh Wonder, Gareth Emery, cKy, System of a Down, Misfits, A Skylit Drive, The Faceless, Metallica, Black Sabbath, Slayer, Lamb of God, My Chemical Romance, Judas Priest

Listen to a lot of heavy metal (gravitate more towards power and progressive metal, and traditional 80s heavy metal artists...including a glam phase I recently went through lol) and punk (from pop punk artists such as Green Day, classics such as Misfits, to hardcore bands such as Agnostic Front), but also listen to a lot of electronic (i.e. Zedd, Armin, Gareth Emery) and other genres such as pop (love Doja Cat), jazz, and hip hop (love Eminem and Kanye).

Favorite movie of all time: Jurassic Park

Favorite books: Hard to say, but I read mostly non-fiction (nowadays, mostly music biographies or conspiracy talk haha), with some occasional fiction (including the occasional comic).

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Studied abroad in Japan in college (lived in Yokohama, but school was in Tokyo). The 4 months I spent there fueled the long haul drive of travel in me ever since. Fun fact: Halloween in Tokyo is an experience.

Most "out there" place I've ever been was probably the Pacific island of Niue (one of the tiniest countries in the world). Look it up. Most people have never heard of it.

Burning Man is also one of the wildest things I've ever experienced. Ask me about it if you want, but once I start I may not be able to shut up about it.

More recently (December 2021), I took a 9 day trip to Haiti, 3 days of which were in Port au Prince - by far the most dangerous place I've ever been in my life. I arrived within a week of the American hostages escaping, and I stood out like a sore thumb. The country had no security and was in a state of instability. However, I stayed with one of the best couchsurfing hosts ever there (who is now a good friend of mine), and I managed to survive - as well as having a truly touching and memorable trip that I'll never forget. The Haitian people and their country is one amazing place (as is their food)...but that's a story for another time (feel free to ask me about it).

Teach, Learn, Share

Teach: English (I'm an avid reader and writer), bass guitar, making cold brew coffee, travel planning, etc

Learn: Other languages (particularly Hebrew, Japanese, and Spanish...been on a huge Spanish kick the last 4 years!)

Share: Music knowledge (used to be in music industry and am a guru when it comes to heavy metal), travel tips to the parts of the world I've been to (50+ countries), the evils of the corporate world, etc

What I Can Share with Hosts

Stories, shared experiences, gifts (depending on context), and a travel buddy to hangout/explore with (only if wanted).

Oh, and I make a mean cold brew (seriously, I'm obsessed and constantly make batches of it with beans from all my travels)

Countries I’ve Visited

Anguilla, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Belgium, Belize, Bermuda, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, Cayman Islands, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, England, France, Germany, Greece, Guam, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Laos, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macao, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niue, Norfolk Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Norway, Palestine, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Russian Federation, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Martin (French part), San Marino, Singapore, Sint Maarten (Dutch part), South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Uruguay, Vatican City State, Viet Nam, Virgin Islands, British, Virgin Islands, U.S.

Countries I’ve Lived In

Israel, Japan, United States