ABOUT ME

I grew up in New York State and started traveling in college (study abroad in London and an archaeology field school in rural Denmark). I taught English at a college and studied Chinese on the side in a small, isolated city in northwestern China from 2006 to 2008. This is also where I met my wife Nissa, who was also an English teacher at the time and grew up in Washington State. We moved together to Seattle in 2008, finished grad school there in 2013, and moved to Olympia, Washington at the end of 2013 to work for the state government. I now work with state legislators to develop the budgets for the state's natural resource and environmental agencies, and Nissa works on health care issues at the state's Attorney General's office.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

When I've used Couchsurfing, it has usually been the highlight of the trip.

Interests

Music (I play guitar and write music in an indie rock band in Seattle called Tigers in the Tank); hiking and camping; independent travel; getting a beer with friends; wine tasting; trying new food; photography; language learning; old-school video games.

• photography
• dining
• wine
• beer
• wine tasting
• video games
• traveling
• music
• guitar
• hiking
• camping
• teaching
• law
• study abroad

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: Favorites include Wilco, The National, Arcade Fire, Sufjan Stevens, Radiohead, but I enjoy a variety of rock, jazz, folk, etc.

Books: Recent favorites include Cloud Atlas, The Luminaries, and Quiet: The Power of Introverts.

Movies: Wes Anderson movies; The Big Lebowski; The Lord of the Rings; whatever we find on Netflix.

Countries I’ve Visited

Cambodia, Canada, Cayman Islands, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, Turkey

Countries I’ve Lived In

China, Denmark, Ghana, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States