CURRENT MISSION

Moving back into Colorado from my NGO charity work abroad with minority coffee farming villages in and around SE Asia for the past 10 years, now working again here in the US more with the café and consumer side of coffee.

ABOUT ME

I love learning and experiencing life for what it is, there are things in this world we can never learn simply from our phones or television.
Recently coming back to the US from over a decade of traveling and working abroad, I have learned a lot about many various opportunities we have which we must choose to experience and not simply let pass by.

I grew up in the US, mostly in ColoSpgs. I love the mountains and the snow more than anything! I love snowboarding and hiking which I have missed more than anything during my time abroad working with coffee farmers, agriculture and minorities in areas where snow does not exist!

PHILOSOPHY

I believe we all have a path in life; many have more than one in a life-time, however the most important part is the choice that comes before these paths. This choice is ours alone and while sometimes hard, or seemingly impossible even, it is these choices and the hurtles along the way that define who we really are. We are all human beings, and should treat others as we would wish to be treated while learning to respect and understanding the differences that make us all unique.

"There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path."

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I will always open my door to a fellow backpacker/couch surfer wherever I may be. In the US, Vietnam, Laos, Australia, or anywhere else in the wide world.

I am even happy to share a place along the way during travels if possible and show others the work involved in bringing you that wonderful cup of coffee every morning, the farmers and workers who work tirelessly picking, processing, sorting, buying/selling, as well as others roasting, shipping, and eventually brewing the one thing we depend on most of all.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have shared others hospitality through CS in Christchurch, New Zealand along the coast of the southern Island were we met many wonderful people who let us camp on their couch and park in their driveways (a few I've met heliskiing!). I have also shared couches in London, Amsterdam, Istanbul, Kathmandu, India, all around SE Asia, and even the US. And I have simply met many other wonderful people simply through this wonderful site!

Interests

I love to snowboard (if you haven't noticed), hike, backpack, climb, be outdoors. I am becoming addicted to traveling, woofing, and consistent changing and learning experiences(; But most of all my attention has been focused on the beauty of travel, minority communities, coffee, sustainability, livelihood, and charity support.

I love to write and read and work with others, and to share stories and experiences, learning their culture through their eyes as well as sharing my own.

• culture
• books
• literature
• beauty
• causes
• education
• coffee
• coach
• walking
• clothing
• traveling
• music
• outdoor activities
• hiking
• backpacking
• camping
• hunting
• skiing
• snowboarding
• olympics
• teaching
• languages
• psychology
• science
• sign language
• mountains
• charity

Music, Movies, and Books

I love Rock music, especially classic rock, and many Alternative genres including Radiohead, Pink Floyd, The Black Keys, Beatles, Nine Inch Nails, The Doors, Pantera, Nirvana...
I love music in general and am ALWAYS open to new and different artists and generas!

Movies include: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, 12 monkeys, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Office Space... anything with a psychological or distopian edge usually grabs my attention- I guess I am just attracted to the chaos of life... Yet funny is always a wonderful movie! nothing beats Dumb and Dumber.

Books: Anne Rice, George Orwell, The Bell Jar, CS Lewis, Brave New World, Heidegger, Kierkegaard, Theology and Philosophy...

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Currently I have been traveling and living for the past 10 years with merely the clothes on my back across much of western Europe, Istanbul, trekking in Nepal, crisscrossing over Southern India, into Bangkok, over to Seim Reap and into Bali and Western Sumatra as well as Southern Laos and all over Vietnam! I have also been some amazing adventures snowboarding in Whistler and Colorado and Heli Boarding in New Zealand! I lived in Sydney for a year and traveled all over the East coast of Australia and the Southern island of New Zealand. I have worked as a Sign Language interpreter for several years and love meeting the deaf communities I encounter along my travels! I have worked with special needs children for many years as well and was a coach for the the winter special olympics... And now working directly with the minority farming communities across India and SE Asia. I guess really - Life - is the most amazing thing I've seen or done.

Teach, Learn, Share

I always love having a fun philosophical conversation with others or taking about the world itself, seeing others perspectives and sharing my own. exchanging music and literature, and knowledge about life.
I understand a lot about snowboarding and skiing, snow, and hiking, and enjoy discussing current issues regarding psychology and science and life itself!

"a lack of intimacy among friends is a mistake that cannot be censured without becoming irreparable" -Nietzsche

..."It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."
— Aristotle (Metaphysics)

“When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.”
— Helen Keller

'Love like you will die tomorrow. Learn like you will live forever.' -Socrates

"There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn't true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true."

"Love is the expression of the one who loves, not of the one who is loved. Those who think they can love only the people they prefer do not love at all. Love discovers truths about individuals that others cannot see"
— Søren Kierkegaard

"Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming 'Wow What a Ride'" Hunter S Thompson.

"How many ways, on how many levels, do we discover the inaccessibility of another mind."
-Czeslaw Milosz

Our lives are not determined by what happens to us but by how we react to what happens, not by what life brings to us, but by the attitude we bring to life. A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events, and outcomes. It is a catalyst, a spark that creates extraordinary results.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can always offer a nice coffee in the mornings! Ground and brewed on site!

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, Cambodia, Canada, France, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Laos, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, Laos, United States, Viet Nam

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