ABOUT ME

NOTE that my location, though listed as Kensington, is at the north edge of Berkeley, only a few kilometers from the university campus.

As a free-lance writer making sports reports from European competitions, I have a complicated schedule when traveling, as well as many days free without a competition to report on. I like to explore countries I have not experienced before. In fact, I have been making it a point each year to spend some time in a locale I have never been before, even if I don't have work there. In 2009, it was Belarus and Ukraine. The next year, Albania. In 2011, Rostov in southern Russia. Last year, Iceland, Malta and Moldova. After a hot summer trip to Kosovo and North Macedonia, I finally made it to Cyprus, which was the last European country I had not visited (depending how you categorize Armenia, Georgia, and the Faroe Islands!).

This year, it was Uruguay, the host country of the first World Cup in 1930.

visited 58 states (25.7%)Create your own visited map of The World or Like this? try: Canned laughter

I also own half-interest in a Berlin flat where I like to spend some time each year when there are no COVID-19 restrictions. Finally in early 2023--after not traveling for more than two years because of the pandemic--I finally made it back to Berlin.

PHILOSOPHY

There is something one can learn from just about every person on this planet, regardless of age or background. Never write off someone until you have had a chance to meet and interact with them.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I make the several unoccupied rooms at my house available to other travelers, but because I myself am away for a lot of the time, there is often (usually) a problem of schedule conflicts with some of the requests I have had.

The main guest room has a double bed, and also a couch which clicks into second double bed. The room has a private (en suite) toilet. So, up to four people can stay in the room.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

My first Couchsurfing experience (with another CS member) was in summer 2009 in Belarus. A fantastic experience in a new country. (This Couchsurfer later was here in California for his first visit to the US.)

However, as a traveler I have used Couchsurfing as a way to find locals for drinks or dinner so that I can get some tips about things to do and see that I won't find in the commercial tourist guides.

Most of my hosting has been for non-US students who are in the US for short-term study or Work-and-Travel and who pass through the SF Bay Area, perhaps the most stunningly beautiful intellectual mecca in the world.

Interests

Sports (obviously--that is what I report on), computers, music, travel. Had advanced study in the sciences (PhD Chemistry from Berkeley) and enjoy conversation about related topics.

• writing
• drinking
• traveling
• music
• hiking
• camping
• sports
• chemistry

Music, Movies, and Books

Non-fiction (history and biographies), most movies except for sci-fi, classical music and also some pop music from not later than the 1980s.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I spent two days hiking around the paths at Iguazu Falls (in both Argentina and Brazil). Amazing forces of nature. Since then, I spent eight days hiking and camping in the varying terrain in the southern half of Namibia. Perhaps the most amazing thing about my infrequent visit to the Southern Hemisphere is the incredible number of stars in the night sky compared with the Northern Hemisphere.

This autumn I have a short trip to Iceland planned, to see some former students who were at Berkeley in the last decade.

In the summer of 2016, I drove in a car from Berlin to Kaliningrad (Russia), and later I overnighted in the unusual disputed area of Transnistria (Moldova).

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Gibraltar, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Macao, Macedonia, Malta, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, San Marino, Scotland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Wales

Countries I’ve Lived In

Germany, United States

•