CURRENT MISSION

co-create Right Livelihood

ABOUT ME

Chris is a simple guy who tries to cultivate happiness as much as possible.
He seeks to live in constant amazement of the world around and within him, and share that with others.

Richa is fun-loving and enjoys good conversation and good food.
Her perennial smile spreads joy far and wide.

We can be found either taking nothing seriously at all, or taking everything as seriously as possible.

PHILOSOPHY

Accept everything from the world
And in turn, give everything of yourself.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I love the entire idea behind couchsurfing - connecting with others, sharing yourself, receiving the generosity of others. In 2009, Chris finished an attempt to travel from Japan to the US entirely by land and sea (ie. no planes), looking to connect with as many people as possible. He eventually made it as far as West Africa before flying back to the US. 8 months tramping around the globe, but couldn't get across the pond without harnessing the power of flight. Check out this google map if you want to see more on the journey: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=118311084951987004485.000474608b520cf7e42b2&z=2

Often traveling just involves taking, impacting the places you visit without leaving much positive behind of yourself. I think that couchsurfing is a different way of traveling - a way to move beyond our selves and connect with something much larger.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I've been hosted all across this beautiful globe from Japan to Russia to the Canary Islands and many places along the way. After so many great experiences, I truly can't wait to give back to this community by hosting! We just need to find a place to 'host' ourselves before we can begin hosting others :)
visited 37 states (16.4%)Create your own visited map of The World

Interests

MOUNTAINS, onigiris, silence, music, VEGETABLES, just sitting, reading books, considering how to CHANGE myself and thus the world, BEER, SNOWBOARDING, frisbee, napping in the sun, naked handstands, AIKIDO, CHALLENGING myself and others, BEARDS, simplicity, environmental policy, writing (read some if you like -> http://www.oaktreegarden.wordpress.com

• writing
• books
• dining
• beer
• walking
• flying
• reading
• traveling
• music
• surfing
• snowboarding
• cartography
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

What I'm reading right now:
John Muir,. My First Summer in the Sierras. David Abram, Becoming Animal. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings. Orsi, Practicing Law in the Sharing Economy.
too many others to count...

What I'm listening to right now:
RADIOHEAD, Bonobo, Iron and Wine, Miles Davis, Wilco, The Roots, Grizzly Bear, Woody Pines, Goyte, Adele, Tycho

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

In 2009 Chris walked the Shikoku 88 Temple Pilgrimage: a 50-day, 1300 km, 1000 year old, circular religious pilgrimage in Japan. It was an incredible experience, and one that will definitely shape the way I experience life from now on. But it was a lot of walking...

In 2011, Richa traveled to Inner Mongolia to help plant nearly a million trees in the Kabuqi Desert to slow the process of desertification. I have been researching this problem for awhile, but actually seeing the vastness of the desert and physically planting a tree there was stunning.

Teach, Learn, Share

I'm currently practicing Aikido and though still a beginner by any standard, would be more than willing to introduce you to it or even take you to my dojo to practice.

Of the millions of things that I want to learn, one that has been at the top of the list for awhile is surfing. Not couch surfing... like, wave surfing. And beyond that, I want to learn how to get into the lotus position. And if you know how to combine those two...that would be sweet.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Cambodia, China, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Mauritania, Mongolia, Morocco, Netherlands, Russian Federation, Senegal, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, Vatican City State, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Italy, Japan, Nepal, United Kingdom, United States

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