ABOUT ME

Hey there lovely visitors. I'm Dylan!

I'm from the small(ish) city of Abbotsford, BC. I spent a year and a half living in Toronto, and three months backpacking through Europe. I've been a member of CS for many years now, but I've been fairly inactive over the past few - hopefully that will change! I am moving to Calgary, AB, on September 1st to pursue an MA in Political Science. If you happen to be in Calgary as well, maybe we can go exploring together.

I love going to concerts and buying new records, watching/playing sports (love hockey, baseball, football, and soccer), and a decent portion of my time spent online is actively seeking out new bands I haven't heard before. I'm also vegetarian, though I'm not one to be preachy about it :) I love traveling more to meet the people than to see the places...but the places certainly are beautiful too. I feel fortunate to have been able to travel, but I don't think I will ever be able to fully quench my thirst for traveling. My heart is always on the road. If you have any questions or just want to strike up a conversation, feel free to message me :)

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I'm on Couchsurfing because I think it reveals something innately beautiful about human beings and human nature. Trust, compassion, and a desire to learn are the foundations of this community, and to have a community built on those three principles is remarkable. It is a community in which I am proud to play a role.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Couchsurfing History
Hosted: 12 people from 6 countries over 46 days
Lumbri Meijer - Copenhagen, Denmark, June 11-14, 2012
Tina - Long Island, New York, June 16-17, 2011
Meg - Long Island, New York, June 16-17, 2011
Sam Morgan - Vancouver, BC, May 11-18, June 6-7 2011
Melanie Thibodeau - Vancouver, BC, May 11-18, June 6-7 2011
Nathan Hildebrand - Montreal, QB, April 22 - 26, 2011
Stefan Schierbaum - Witten, Germany, April 15 - 18, 2011
Link Ross - New York City, NY, April 14 (day), 2011
Jamie Gross - Philadelphia, PA, April 11 - 13, 2011
Vjeko Decur - Bjelovar, Croatia, March 30 - April 2, 2011
David France - Saint George's Town, Bermuda, March 25-28, 2011
Galen Sawatzky - Quebec City, QB, March 23, 2011

Surfed: 27 couches in 12 countries (21 cities) over 67 days
Per Svensson - Amsterdam, Netherlands, October 5-6, 2011
Julia Gutsgell - Brussels, Belgium, October 2-4, 2011
Federico Poletti - Oslo, Norway, Sept 26 - 28, 2011
Olov Hamilton - Stockholm, Sweden, Sept 23 - 26, 2011
Lumbri Meijer - Copenhagen, Denmark, Sept 23 - 26, 2011
Matthias Klebs - Berlin, Germany, Sept 20 - 23, 2011
Emelie Jacobson - Prague, Czech Republic, Sept 17 - 20, 2011
Simona Telban - Zagreb, Croatia, Sept 15 - 17, 2011
Daniele & Giacomo, Florence, Italy, Sept 7-9, 2011
Giovanni Sannino, Milan, Italy, Sept 4-7, 2011
Bruno, Barcelona, Spain, Sept 2-3, 2011
Louisa, Girona, Spain, Aug 30 - Sept 2, 2011
Judi Colas Lanz, Madrid, Spain, Aug 25-30, 2011
Katie Schalmann, Lisbon, Portugal, Aug 22-25, 2011
João Cunha, Porto, Portugal, Aug 18-22, 2011
Hector, Leon, Spain, Aug 15-18, 2011
Felipe Sousa, Pamplona, Spain, Aug 12-15, 2011
Thomas Schroeder, Pamplona, Spain, Aug 11-12, 2011
Sophie & Raphael Audet, Bordeaux, France, Aug 8-11, 2011
Chloé Chavanon - Lyon, France, Aug 6-8, 2011
Joé - Lyon, France, Aug 5-6, 2011
Elliot Fouchy - Paris, France, Aug 4-5, 2011
Ibrahim - Paris, France, Aug 2, 2011
Pierre Bauër - Paris, France, Aug 1 & 3, 2011
Charlotte Godziewski - Luxembourg, Lux, July 30 - Aug 1, 2011
Sarah Ennemoser - Brussels, Belgium, July 27-30, 2011
Mirko Cano- The Hague, Netherlands, July 26-27, 2011
Jeremie - The Hague, Netherlands, July 25-26, 2011
Casa Robino - Amsterdam, Netherlands July 23-25, 2011
Per Svensson - Amsterdam, Netherlands July 21-23, 2011

Traveled:
Rodrigo Aparicio - Mexico City, Mexico, August 16 - September 3
Josh and Lana - Minneapolis, MN, July 23-26, 2011
Chris - Amsterdam, the Netherlands, July 23-25, 2011

Interests

I love everything and anything that entails music. I'm a big record hound, and I play guitar and piano. I also really dig photography, creative writing, and playing and watching most sports. I love going out late on the weekends for food and beer, or to local shows and concerts.

+ thoughtful movies/intellectual comedies, music festivals, camping, hot chocolate with marshmallows, late night drives to nowhere, staying in on a cold day with hot chocolate and a movie, walking in the rain, vinyl, buddhist philosophy, MCC, art, photography, black and white film, home made prints, being understood, road trips, Karl Marx, questioning answers, far left socialism, vegetarianism, commercial drive, good beer, good coffee, hockey and baseball and football, hockey pools.

• arts
• writing
• photography
• concerts
• music festivals
• festivals
• cooking
• chocolate
• beer
• coffee
• vegetarian
• walking
• movies
• traveling
• music
• guitar
• piano
• backpacking
• camping
• sports
• baseball
• soccer
• hockey
• teaching
• history
• international relations
• journalism
• languages
• political science
• religion
• science
• road trips

Music, Movies, and Books

Music
I enjoy a wide variety of music, depending on my mood, but some artists I can be into most anytime include Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Iron Maiden, Leonard Cohen, Ben Harper, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Bon Iver, Black Sabbath, and Jimi Hendrix.

Some of the best concerts I've been to include Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Neil Young, Leonard Cohen, and Ben Harper. Of course, music festivals are tons of fun too: Pemberton Festival 2008, and Sasquatch Music Festival 2009!
MoviesFor the longest time I was never sure how to categorize the types of movies I like best, but I've come up with intellectual comedies, which are generally movies that on the surface appear to be a comedy, but have some very serious or philosophical undertones, or both. I also really enjoy documentaries, and heavy movies that inject you with a lethal dose of reality.

Anyways! Favourite movies (not categorized or rated) include: Garden State, Reign Over Me, Stranger Than Fiction, I Heart Huckabees, American History X, The Soloist Into the Wild, Boondock Saints, Dead Poets Society, Crash, Blood Diamond, Inception, Sicko, Wristcutters: A Love Story, Che (part I & II), and Lords of Dogtown.

Books & Authors My dad is a manager of seven libraries, I worked as a library page for two years, and I do love reading, but in spite of all that, I have the hardest time finishing a book and I have no idea why! Even if I genuinely enjoy the book, lots of times I will stop reading it for a while before finishing it, if I ever do.

A few of my favourite books though: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Trainspotting, The Fountainhead, The Little Prince, With Love and Irony, Lord of the Flies, and any Calvin and Hobbes book!

Some of my favourite writers: Leonard Cohen, Shane Koyczan, Kahlil Gibran, Karl Marx, Jon Krauker, Lin Yutang, and Noam Chomsky.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

How about two things? In May 2010 I moved from my hometown of Abbotsford, BC, and I moved to Toronto! I went to school for a semester there before realizing it would be far too expensive, so I worked and saved, and eventually went traveling. I backpacked and couchsurfed through sixteen countries in Europe over the course of three months, and had the time of my life. I explored Nazi bunkers on the shores of the Atlantic ocean in the Netherlands, climbed atop the tallest sand dune in Europe, slept in trains, train stations, 24-hour McDonald's, and the attics of 1-star hotels, and met the most amazing people along my trip thanks to CouchSurfing.

Teach, Learn, Share

I'd love to practice my French a bit more while traveling, and if there's a guitar nearby I can help you learn a thing or two on it :)

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United States, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada

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