CURRENT MISSION

To live freely and travel lightly, sharing love, spreading peace, and creating joy with all those around me.

ABOUT ME

I was born in Los Angeles, CA in February, 1971. I grew up in Venice Beach, near Santa Monica. My family went on camping trips in the Western United States nearly every month while I was a child, which instilled in me a deep reverence for Mother Nature, and a driving curiosity to explore the world outside of my own homeland. I studied anthropology at the university and in 1995 traveled to Taiwan to make my first study with the Amis language speaking communities on the east coast. Then I caught the Asia travel bug and kept returning to Taiwan, then China, Thailand, and most recently, India, where I went on a pilgrimage from Calcutta to the source of the Ganga River. The more I traveled, the more wonderful and amazing people I met, so that now my family includes brothers and sisters from all over the world. I have lived part-time in Taiwan since 2003, when I met my wife, Winnie Huang, a native of Taiwan. Since then, we have been traveling together every day to present.

PHILOSOPHY

Love is all we need, but some food and sleep are also nice on occasion.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I joined CS in June 2008 after attending a World Rainbow Gathering in Hainan, China, where I met many other couch surfers. I can sometimes offer a couch in Big Bear Lake, California.

Interests

Travel, wilderness, nature, culture, backpacking, camping, swimming, riding ocean waves, bicycles, skating, flying kites, singing, playing guitar, campfires, discovering hidden paradises, following butterflies, dancing (especially under the full moon near a bonfire), absorbing the sun into my skin, chanting mantras, eating local exotic cuisine, listening to live music, photography, performance art, hugging friends, listening to and hopefully telling interesting stories, loving, ...

• arts
• culture
• writing
• singing
• performing arts
• photography
• dancing
• dining
• meditation
• flying
• traveling
• cars
• music
• live music
• guitar
• backpacking
• camping
• scuba diving
• swimming
• anthropology
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: River of Bliss by Robert Gardner, Waking Life, The Muppet Movie, Yellow Submarine, The Matrix, documentaries about other cultures, Errol Morris films such as "Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control", Mira Nair's Kama Sutra, most independent films. Music: Bob Dylan, Beatles, Neil Young, Allman Brothers, Grateful Dead, Jane's Addiction, Psytrance (for dancing), Indian music, Sufi music, native music from Africa and anywhere else in the world. Books: Aldous Huxley's Perennial Philosophy, Doors of Perception and Island, anthropology books (ethnographies), Vedanta writings (especially by Swami Vivekananda), all of Lex Hixon's books, and other interesting non-fiction or biographies.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Near death experience: When I was in high school, around 15 years old, my family was on a camping trip, driving through Utah. My father heard a strange high-pitched noise coming from the truck's engine, pulled over to the side of the remote highway, and immediately flames engulfed the cab. He shouted, "Fire! Get out!" My grandmother and I were in the cab. We jumped out onto the burning hot sand and ran as fast as we could away from the camper. My mother and younger brother were in the back of the camper and ran out from the back door. My father ran out from the driver's door. Within a minute, the whole camper was on fire, then the propane stove and refrigerator exploded and shot into the sky. Within five minutes our whole vehicle was diminished to a pile of ash on the side of the highway. Cars continued to pass the burning truck on the highway until one red pickup truck stopped near us to ask if we were okay. They drove us to Salt Lake City and paid for our hotel room. Then my grandfather paid for our flight back to Los Angeles. I learned that the most important thing for anyone is their own life and the lives of our family. We lost everything we brought with us on that trip, but were ever more grateful for our own lives and those of the people who we love. A powerful lesson at a young age. Hopefully you will not have to endure such a dramatic event to realize this simple lesson!!!

Teach, Learn, Share

What I feel I can teach: anthropology, English language and writing, photography, cinematography, guitar, swimming, scuba diving, relaxing meditation, foot reflexology.

What I would like to learn: how to support my traveling life without having to "work for the Man".

Countries I’ve Visited

China, India, Japan, Mexico, Nepal, Taiwan, Thailand, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Taiwan, United States

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