CURRENT MISSION

I am in Ethiopia from July 2018 to July 2019. After that, is a mystery but then life is sometimes better with some unknowns in it.

ABOUT ME

I do research in West and East Africa so if you have questions regarding countries and travel in these areas contact me. I have lived extensively in Francophone Africa and was caught in the middle of the MNJ Tuareg rebellion in Niger. I am very Spartan when it comes to sleeping arrangements as I have hitch-hiked across the United States several times, Canada once, freight-train hopped in various places in the US, Canada and Mauritania and had all kinds of lessons when it comes to humility and surviving. I will in all likelihood spend some time on freight, hitch hike a bit, squat, forage for food and yes, you best believe it ... some walking.

PHILOSOPHY

Karma is a powerful motivator. So is social justice. We all need to give and take at times and the more we help out others the more likely good fortune will come our way. Money comes and goes but receiving the help from others and helping out those in need binds the whole universe together.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Well, I have probably taken more than given but that doesn't mean I am selfish ... just lucky to meet such good people! I have hosted several times but when it comes to being the surfer I have done it a few times formally through this network and many times informally through people who just met me. So the verdict is 'guilty as charged!' Before sentencing though, in my defense, I always helped out travelers passing through the town of Atar, Mauritania when I was a Peace Corps volunteer from 1999-2001. So I like to think the good luck is delayed karma.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

The people I met in Aix en Provence, France who either offered me a couch or spent some time with me over tea or coffee were excellent. It was my first time couch surfing through this network and they were very hospitable and kind. Second experience was in Fiji and they were so decent to me, I have come to the conclusion that couch surfing started in the South Pacific. And then there are super people who help you out in a pinch in some of the larger metropoles in Europe and North America.

Interests

Africa; Asia; Latin America; anarchy; socialism; punk, industrial and dance music; hitch-hiking; fruit golfing; dumpster-diving; freight hopping; hiking and walking long distances; stealing national flags (especially in front of police stations) sitting down with young and old people in different nations and listening to them talk about their lives; supporting people fighting for their land rights; pissing-off people who are very fixed in their ways, whether liberal or conservative.

• dancing
• dining
• cooking
• coffee
• walking
• music
• dance music
• hiking
• surfing
• scuba diving
• emergency services
• hitchhiking
• volunteering
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

I just saw the film, 'City of Ghosts.' The travel experiences in that are very real to me, though fortunately I am not a person to scam people out of money, just a sleeping space for a night or two.

Coen Brothers films like Fargo, The Big Lebowski, Oh Brother Where Art Thou?, No Country for Old Men, Hudsucker Proxy, Blood Simple and Raising Arizona.

Music I like would include Nine Inch Nails, Massive Attack, PJ Harvey, Lords of Acid, Kanye West, KiD CuDi, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Portishead, Sneaker Pimps, Johnny Cash, the Sex Pistols, the Dead Kennedys, the Dead Milkmen, Linkin Park, Jay-Z, Tu Pac, Saul Williams, Seu Jorge, Myriam Fares, Najwa Karam, Fnaïre, and others [I am leaving a lot out here].

With books I love reading John Steinbeck, Albert Camus, Graham Greene, Mark Twain, Alexandre Dumas and George Orwell.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I just recently interacted with Kimono Dragons in Lumphini Park. I did not expect to see them there. I was fortunate to take some photos and I actually guided a baby one across the road and out of danger.

Teach, Learn, Share

Anyone interested in hitch-hiking, riding public transportation in North and West Africa, trekking through the Sahara desert (eastern side) and freight-train hopping should contact me. The stories and information is diverse, thus this bracket is a little too small to share things here (see below however). If you contact I promise I will answer the question[s] you have on any of these.

I will share one episode in the whacked-out roller coaster ride that is my life. Try finding fuel wood for heating during the winters in the Middle Atlas mountains of Morocco. What will happen is you will be standing in a narrow alleyway of some small town, with a few vegetable vendors around, waiting for a group of men to show up with flour sacks of wood that they illegally cut but still sell at the official rate. When this happened with me, I felt like a junkie waiting there for his/her fix and when they did show up with a few sacks, I wasn't the only strung-out individual clawing and scraping for his/her stash. Though I felt some guilt about the future state of forest management in Morocco, I really needed something to keep warm. The twenty wool, Berber blankets piled on my bed were just not doing it!

What I Can Share with Hosts

I have been lucky in that I have a rich number of stories from my travels. There are not particularly ones that I tell people I meet, I generally share with them stories when I recall them and they are relevant to the conversations. I also cook. I have received compliments for my omelets, pastas, lentils and soups.

Countries I’ve Visited

Algeria, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Canada, China, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Côte d'Ivoire, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Fiji, France, Gambia, Germany, Greece, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Laos, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Myanmar, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Palestine, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Viet Nam, Western Sahara

Countries I’ve Lived In

Ethiopia, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, United States

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