Hi! I grew up in the New York suburbs, and also lived in Philadelphia for four years. Then I moved to Israel in 2011. Now I'm staying in Japan for a while, doing research at a university in Tokyo.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I like to be able to travel and meet people. It would suck to go to a country and not have anyone to interact with. :) For me, the whole point of traveling to interesting places is to meet interesting people.

Hosting would also be cool, though I can't really host since I'm living in a dormitory that doesn't allow guests.

Interests

• video games
• board games
• computer science
• reading books
• japan
• meeting new people
• israel
• japanese history

Music, Movies, and Books

Favorite musicians:
- Indie/folk/rock: Tom Waits, The Decemberists, Chumbawamba, The National
- Older: The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, Chuck Berry
- Soundtracks: Yuki Kajiura, Nobuo Uematsu, Andrew Lloyd Webber
- Israeli: Idan Raichel, Shotei Hanevua, Metropolin

In truth I don't know that many musicians, so I'm always open to learning about music I might like. :)

Favorite books:
- The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
- Lord of the Rings (J. R. R. Tolkien)
- American Gods (Neil Gaiman)
- Cryptonomicon (Neil Stevenson)
- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
- Harry Potter (J. K. Rowling)

I tend to like books that are long and one can invest their time and energy into it.

Favorite comics:
- The Sandman (Neil Gaiman, again)
- Watchmen (Alan Moore)
- Showa (Mizuki Shigeru)
- Yotsubato (Kiyohiko Azuma)
- Adolf (Osamu Tezuka)

Movies:
Sagas: Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Lord of the Rings
Others: The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, Wristcutters, Life is Beautiful
Israeli: Sallah Shabati, The Blaumilch Canal, Zero Motivation
Japanese: Dodes'ka-den, Summer Wars, The Wind Rises

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I've managed to put off earnestly starting life for 34+ years. ;)

Though seriously, one pretty cool thing was when I worked on an archaeological dig in Jerusalem, digging through literally thousands of years of history.

Teach, Learn, Share

I like learning about all kinds of things! I am quite lazy when it comes to reading things like history books and watching online lectures, so I'm much better at learning by talking to people.

The thing I most need to learn right now is the Japanese language (I currently freeze and stand awkwardly any time I try to use the little Japanese that I know). I'm also very interested in Japanese history (all periods). I like learning about Japanese geography as well, though I still don't know it too well. And, of course, I find all aspects of Japanese culture itself fun to learn, from brewing/drinking sake, to playing Go or Hanafuda, to going to a baseball game, and so forth.

As far as what I know and can teach, I'm not sure! I'm very interested in computer science and software/hardware engineering, so I can teach things like how a processor works, and we can discuss theories as to how the world of programming can be revamped. I'm hoping to study for a PhD since I love academic research.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I've been living in Israel for the last seven or eight years, so I can give you an interesting perspective on this tiny part of the Middle East. It's *not* sand dunes and camels like Lawrence of Arabia, and its geopolitical situation is much more complex than the news has the opportunity to portray. The history and cultures of the area are fascinating.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, France, Japan, Mexico

Countries I’ve Lived In

Israel, Japan, United States