CURRENT MISSION
If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.- Henry David Thoreau

ABOUT ME
I am an avid traveler and always in need of cheap places to crash for a few nights. I travel whenever I get the chance, even if it's just for the weekend. I graduated in December 08 from Clemson University with a major in Sociology and minors in Geography and Psychology. In 2009 I lived in Slovakia for 7 months while interning with Habitat for Humanity International in their Europe and Central Asia Headquarters in Bratislava. I finished my masters in Sociology at Virginia Tech in May '11 and was the LGBTQ Coordinator for Virginia Tech until 2013 when my wife and I moved to Evansville, IN! We lived there for 2 years before moving back to the New River Valley. We recently bought a home and are both working at Virginia Tech.

I love to laugh and have fun and will go out of my way to do them. I'm laid back, easy going, open minded, and always up for a new experience. Going on random adventures, drinking and talking about ideas, hiking, and reading are four of my favorite things to do.

I like wandering and "getting lost" in new cities, and talking to local folks and random acquaintances are the best times I've had. I'm pretty independent and I move at my own pace, so I usually prefer to travel solo but I have one or two good friends who are perfect travel buddies.

PHILOSOPHY
I am here to do as much as I can in the short sweet time that I am given. I hope to travel the world and get to know people by living alongside them.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING
Hosting, surfing, and attending meetups

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE (Links on my "legacy profile": https://www.couchsurfing.com/users/524739/profile/legacy)

Traveled With:
Graham Allen (he's from the US, we met in the US, we traveled to Greece)
Dulce Perez-Callejas (she's from Mexico, we met in Slovakia, we traveled to Stockholm)
Matej Bartko(he's from Czech, we met in Bratislava, we took day trips to the small cities and castles surrounding Bratislava)
Shadie Tanious (he's from the US, we backpacked around the Balkans)
Lindsey Reid Aitcheson(she's from the US, we traveled to Atlanta)
Michelline Stokes (she's from the US, we traveled to Jacksonville)

Surfed With:
Graham Allen (in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA)
Bruno Olsson (in Stockholm Sweden)
Germana Lavagna (in Milan, Italy)
Sinead McDermott (in Maynooth, Ireland)
Marie-Belle Hiernaux (in Budapest, Hungary)
Igor and Taja (in Ljubljana, Slovenia)
Sinsa and Marija (in Zagreb, Croatia)
Danijela and Sasha (in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Uros and Milka (in Novi Sad, Serbia)
Sebastian Salgado-Flores (in San Antonio, Texas, USA)
Catharine Boice (in Austin, Texas, USA)
Halef and Michael (in Atlanta, Georgia, USA)
Zach Lail (in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA)
Kyle Sherard (in Asheville, North Carolina, USA)
Eileen Rush (in Charleston, South Carolina, USA)
Kelly B (in St. Louis, Missouri, USA)
Nancy Douglass (in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA)
Susan (in Rapid City, South Dakota, USA)
Travis Thompson (in Roanoke, Virginia, USA)
Sebastian Kraus (in Sennwald, Switzerland)

Hosted:
Noora Takamäki (from Finland/coming from Germany HOSTED WHILE IN SLOVAKIA)
Michaela Vogel (From Germany/coming from France HOSTED WHILE IN SLOVAKIA)
Ben Steinberg (From the US, HOSTED WHILE IN VIRGINIA)
Hannah Wheatcroft (From the US, HOSTED WHILE IN VIRGINIA)

Met up with:
Tin Skyttevåg (From Sweden, I met her in Bratislava)
Charmaine Wong (From the Philippines/USA, I met her in Bratislava)
Ada Sablova(From Slovakia, we met in Bratislava)
Trish Webb (From England, I met her in Bratislava)
Mario Bianco (From Italy, I met him in Bratislava)
Kevin Buckley (From the US, we met in Dublin)
Magaly (From Chile, gave me a tour of UMD in Maryland)
Samantha Scott (From Scotland, I met her in Bratislava)
Neimar Alves Guerra (From Brazil, I met him in Bratislava)
Marie-Belle Hiernaux , (From Belgium, I met her in Bratislava)
Jeanie Pauli (from the US, I met her in Bratislava)
Alireza (from Iran/Sweden, I met him in Bratislava)
Darren Maczka (from the US, he hosts CS potlucks in Blacksburg, VA)
Vicky Steylaerts (from Belgium, I met her in Blacksburg, VA)
Emile (from France, I gave him a ride from the Roanoke Airport)

Interests

Bookstores, Markets, Old Towns, Parks/Gardens

• culture
• dancing
• dining
• drinking
• reading
• traveling
• music
• hiking
• skydiving
• geography
• psychology
• religion
• sociology
• volunteering
• parks
• deep conversations
• new friends

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies:
--Comedy, Action, Foreign FLICKS, Documentary, Mockumentary, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Musicals, Bollywood--
IJ/SW/LOTR, Shawshank Redemption, Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, Maria Eres Llena de Gracia, Children Of Men, Pan's Labyrinth, The Fountain, Matchstick Men, City of Joy, For The Bible Tells Me So, most of Gus Van Sant's work.

Music: Brandi Carlile, EVE 6, Motion City Soundtrack, Goo Goo Dolls, The Starting Line, Jump Little Children, John Williams, Jimmy Eat World, Blessid Union of Souls, NeedToBreathe, Brand New, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Javier Navarrete, MIKA, Speechwriters LLC, Jesca Hoop, Imogen Heap,

Books: Maphead, The Enderverse, His Dark Materials, Their Eyes Were Watching God, A Thousand Acres, My Sister's Keeper, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, This I Believe, Infidel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, Shantaram, Fall On Your Knees, historical fiction, travel journals, interesting non-fiction.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I took a 17hr train ride in India for the low low price of $24USD and spent two days in the AMAZING city of Varanasi on the Ganges river.

In college I worked at my university's music venue and got to work backstage with artist such as Bob Dylan, Jim Gaffigan, Ron White, Corey Smith, and Bowling for Soup.

I was in India planning a weekend trip to Lahore, Pakistan when Benazir Bhutto was assassinated.

Skydiving, motorcycles, roller coasters, basically anything that has to do with adrenaline.

Countries I’ve Visited

Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Mexico, Netherlands, Peru, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Slovakia, United States

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