CURRENT MISSION

Living life in order to tell good stories... Also, learning Spanish.

ABOUT ME

I just graduated the University of Texas in Austin last May and I spent the remainder of the year traveling and living in South America. Rural Argentina became home for five months--there I taught English to large group of hyperactive seventh-graders. I returned, intact, last December and have since moved to San Antonio, where I'm researching becoming a teacher and my girlfriend is learning how to be a doctor (at UTHSC San Antonio). I'm an easy-going and open minded person and I love meeting new people--I especially enjoy meeting fellow CouchSurfers because they're typically the most outgoing and adventurous of the bunch! If you're open minded, smart, funny, a traveler, good with knock-knock jokes, or just wandering around in circles, we should hang out. We probably have a lot in common. If not, then i'll just pretend to make it less awkward.

PHILOSOPHY

To me, one of the most important traits to have is curiosity. I think you become old not by having many birthdays, but by setting your opinions in stone and giving up on the thrill of discovery.

I thus hope to one day have a career where I get to continually learn and re-shape my view of the world. For now I'm excited to share what I know (mainly just bits of English) with students in Argentina and learn from them in exchange. In short, I aim to be a life-long student.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

When I was a student at UT, I was always excited to get to share the coolness of Austin with travelers--especially those from abroad whose views on Texas were most likely shaped by George W. or the old TV show, Dallas. Most recently, I've found CS to be a wonderful resource while traveling through South America. Particularly in Colombia, my fellow travelers and I encountered such friendly people and generous CS hosts. We got to go on adventures we never could have planned and see small towns that don't appear in any guide book. CS is really unrivaled in terms of having an authentic experience abroad--it really kinda makes using Lonely Planet feel like staying at La Quinta. 

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I think one of the fun things about CouchSurfing is when you have to explain the concpet to, let's say, the more "hotel-ish" type people, and witness their astonished reactions.It's even better when you can turn on a doubting friend to the world of CouchSurfing. You can see something just click in their mind when they realize that some people really do just want to help out and meet a stranger, and share something from their world. 

Interests

I've always been interested in international affairs--one of my majors in college was government--so I really enjoy getting to meet people from all over the world and hear what they think. Lately, I've become increasingly interested in economics; I think I might even return to school soon and shoot for a Masters degree. The main obstacle for me, however, is learning the necessary math. But thankfully one of my good friends and fellow traveler is a math major, so I've got a good tutor.

My all time favorite thing to do is snowboarding. I spent my middle school days living growing up in Colorado, a beautiful place where we would get to go ski or snowboard for PE! I try to go up to Colorado at least once a year to hit the mountain with my two younger brothers--who also happen to be way better snowboarders than me...

• books
• tv
• traveling
• socializing
• skiing
• snowboarding
• wakeboarding
• economics
• teaching
• mathematics
• medicine
• tourism

Music, Movies, and Books

My favorite book ever is Catch-22. It's hilarious, but also grapples with some serious stuff. I also really like Fahrenheit 451, 1984 and I found Book One of Don Quixote to be a lot funnier than I expected (it's so long, but one of these days I'll complete Book Two).

As far as movies go, I most enjoy war movies and generally epic films. So I really like The Thin Red Line, Saving Private Ryan, Three Kings, and Apocalypse Now, and also 2001: A Space Odyssey, Star Wars, and Gladiator. These don't really fit in my two categories but I also really like Pulp Fiction, Swingers, and Catch Me If You Can. Oh, also anything by the Coen brothers.

And I know it's cliche, but I really do like all types of music except country. My favorite genres by far, however, are classic rock and oldies. So stuff like The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd is of course great.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I'm working on that! I do, however, have an uncanny ability to come across the weiner mobile not matter what state I'm in, if that counts.

Teach, Learn, Share

Ok well I just learned how to wakeboard the other day--the trick is, in my opinion, the pretend like you're an egg while you're waiting in the water. Keep your knees tucked up against your chest and, when the speedboat takes off, simply roll forward instead of trying to stand up.

And one thing I'd like to learn but can never seem to wrap my head around: in economics, how does inflation/deflation affect currency appreciation/depreciation, and vice versa? And I hope there's an egg metaphor to explain it!

Countries I’ve Visited

Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Peru, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, Uruguay

Countries I’ve Lived In

Argentina, United States

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