CURRENT MISSION

I'm traveling through Europe before heading to Siberia to work on a documentary film. This next week (July 13-20) I’m riding around the Alps on a motorcycle and doing some hiking. I’d love to stay with or hike with some locals!

ABOUT ME

I'm a 26 year-old recent graduate of Stanford University, and I live in a communal house on a beautiful property in the redwood trees of Northern California (the Santa Cruz mountains).

I tried working in Silicon Valley for two years but spending all day in an office made me depressed so I quit and switched to tutoring high school kids for a living, which gives me much more free time to be outside and pursue my creative whims (mostly writing, film, photography) and generally enjoy life. I’ve done some journalism and I’m thinking of pursuing it further as a career.

I have a pretty serious case of wanderlust, having grown up on a sailboat, traveling around the South Pacific with my family from 1999-2003. I get frustrated with stasis and want to get out and see the world.

Probably not the most unique attribute to post on a couchsurfing profile, but I think I'm very open to new experiences, adventures, modes of thinking and ways of being. I don't believe in beliefs. Only thing that I try to maintain is compassion and a willingness to reevaluate everything I think I know.

I can offer good, or at least decent, conversation. I like to hear others' stories and share mine.

PHILOSOPHY

Be kind and willing to change. Transcend ego. Don't take things too seriously.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I've done a fair amount of hitch-hiking, and couchsurfing has a similar spirit to it. I've had some lovely experiences surfing with hosts in Norway, Israel, and Nepal. When I was living in a giant 3-story communal house in Oakland from 2014-2016, we hosted a bunch of couch-surfers from around the world and had a lot of fun.

Now I'm back into traveling mode and excited to stay with some locals in Europe!

Interests

Hiking, my dog, surfing, climbing, reading, writing, meditation, hitch-hiking, making and watching films, gardening, general fitness.
Skinny dipping in the ocean or lakes, running to the top of a mountain late at night, staring at the stars, practicing foreign languages, drinking coffee, peeing when I really have to pee. Developing black and white photos.(check out my website: http://cargocollective.com/dedwards)
A lot of other things as well.

• writing
• documentaries
• coffee
• running
• meditation
• sauna
• walking
• drinking
• movies
• reading
• traveling
• hiking
• camping
• surfing
• rock climbing
• languages
• hitchhiking
• lakes
• mountains

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I lived on a sailboat with my family from 1999 to 2003, traveling throughout the South Pacific. It was an idyllic life and an incredible way to grow up.

When I was fifteen years old, I hiked 400 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail in the Sierra Nevada Mountains by myself, a sort of self-imposed rite of passage. I started out the trip with my father, but when he left the trail after a week, he saw that I was a competent outdoorsman and so he allowed me to continue on solo. It was a very challenging and rewarding experiencing: confronting primal fear alone in the wilderness with bears walking around.

I hitch-hiked the entire length of New Zealand when I was 16 years old with my good friend Trevor. Incredible time.

Two summers ago, I traveled around rural Nepal, filming a documentary with my friend Trevor.

Countries I’ve Visited

American Samoa, Australia, Canada, China, Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Israel, Jordan, Laos, Mexico, Nepal, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, South Korea, Thailand, Tonga, Vanuatu

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, China, Fiji, New Zealand, United States

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