CURRENT MISSION

To decipher the beautiful intricacies and contradictions of Turkish culture.

ABOUT ME

I lived in the same house in suburban DC for 18 years before heading to NYC for college. I moved back to my hometown and worked in education consulting for two years, though I dreamed of working in foreign policy. When I was offered a fellowship in Ankara, I dove into Turkey headfirst.

I've lived in Ankara for the last year, and after a brief interlude back home, I'll be moving to Istanbul. That couch will be slightly more desirable than my one in Ankara, I imagine.

PHILOSOPHY

I consider it a small victory when someone says, in response to a question from me, "I've never been asked that before." And vice versa.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I was on couch-surfing briefly years ago, but ended up with a series of roommates who were less keen on the project. Of late, I've met a bunch of people through travel who've crashed on my couch, and figured I should re-formalize my participation. So here I am.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I've been practicing the spirit of couch-surfing informally for the last year. First, my old roommates posted our couch on the site, and we hosted people through them. Later, I would invite crashers whom I met in other parts of Turkey or on my travels in the region. I've had some great people crash with me in the Turkish capital.

Interests

Good conversations about culture, foreign policy, and politics. Going to new places and meeting people who live there.

• culture
• education
• politics
• traveling
• socializing
• surfing
• teaching

Music, Movies, and Books

Films: The Lives of Others, On the Waterfront, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Annie Hall, No Country for Old Men, The Squid and the Whale, Dazed and Confused, Lawrence of Arabia, The Edge of Heaven, Network, Chinatown, Casablanca, The Big Lebowski, Pulp Fiction, The Seven Samurai, Almost Famous, LA Confidential.

Music: Jayhawks, Neil Young, John Coltrane, Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, Traffic, Built to Spill, Dinosaur Jr., Neutral Milk Hotel, Arcade Fire, Allman Brothers, Derek Trucks Band, Pink Floyd, Nas, Outkast, Wye Oak, The Dodos, Local Natives, Tame Impala, Girls, Surfer Blood, My Morning Jacket, Tune-Yards, Bruce Springsteen, Rolling Stones

Books: Moby Dick, To The Lighthouse, Crime and Punishment, Remains of the Day, White Noise, The Decameron.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

The Western Desert of Egypt. It's about as far from the rest of the world as I've ever felt.

Teach, Learn, Share

Turkish, US, and Israeli politics and foreign policy.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, France, Georgia, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland

Countries I’ve Lived In

Egypt, Israel, Turkey, United States