Exploring the world (near and far) is nothing without the friends you meet along the way :)

My life is increasingly difficult to summarize, but here’s an attempt:

I don’t believe in a “higher power”. In my experiences, this always turned out to be an oppressive and very human tool, encouraging people to shame, spread ignorance, and resist change.

This sparked an early desire in me to seek positivity, education, and adaptation. While I haven’t always succeeded, these have always been the guiding principles of my life.

I’ve moved at least 25 times in my life. I’ve lived by myself, and with a girlfriend, a great friend, a family and baby, strangers. I’ve lived in another country, and I’ve lived in a van.

If you want to learn from my experience, the most fulfilling time in my life has been as a Couchsurfing host where I felt I was offering something out of the ordinary for my guests.

Carl Sagan once said, “If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.”

Being fortunate to have a comfortable place to live and also being comfortable enough to allow strangers in — this is a luxury and privilege not everyone can afford. Financial, social, and psychological burdens can sometimes be overwhelming.

The hard work and persistent struggle to create an environment comfortable enough to share is worth it. I lost sight of hosting a few years ago for a series of decisions that ultimately led me back to now.

I think we all value social interactions a bit more after 2020-2021. For me personally, I had been missing the Couchsurfing community long before.

I learn so much every year of my life, and I’m focused now on picking the things that worked well for me over the years of constant shifting.

I want to learn, experience, and enjoy life to the fullest. I hope we can connect and be great friends. If you’re just passing through, that’s cool too. We’re all at different points in life, and it makes the friendships that do form special.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I meet my best fiends in very random ways, and I want to increase the chances of meeting adventurous people like me. I try my best to break down the boundaries many put in front of themselves and embrace humanity with an open mind and open heart.

That being said, I don’t have high tolerance for people who stubbornly don’t try new things. I see too much of that already, and I think Couchsurfing is best used as an opportunity to retreat from the ordinary!

Interests

Food, hosting, nature, guitar, cycling, software

• guitar
• cycling
• software
• food
• nature
• writing music

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: The Beatles, Radiohead, Fleetwood Mac, Nickel Creek, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Incubus, Glass Animals. I like a lot of pop music, classical, and more. It’s difficult to single out artists without naming everything out there.

Movies: Enjoying the MCU recently. Always been a big nerd when it comes to sci-fi blockbusters and I equally enjoy serious drama, comedies (dark and light). Mostly I’m looking for a good escape — something that makes me think differently or even purely distracts me.

Books: Great Expectations, Fahrenheit 451, Brave New World, Herzog… honestly I need to read more. It’s been a while since I got deep into a good book. The problem is the super depressing books draw me in and put me in a mood 😂.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Traveled to Kiev, Ukraine just before the peak of the 2014 revolution. I ended up meeting some amazing friends in Lviv. We celebrated New Year, my birthday, and Christmas. I snowboarded for the first time in Bukovel (Carpathian Mountains).

Teach, Learn, Share

I like solving math problems with programming. I have a passion for combining art with science and technology. I like to talk about how technology can be used for improving our human experience (e.g. - Couchsurfing!), rather than isolate us.

What I Can Share with Hosts

My life has taken lots of twists and turns, and I’m told I have some interesting stories. Maybe you can get inspiration from them… or laugh and learn from my tragic mistakes.

To be honest, I get bored of talking about myself and I’m more interested to listen to your stories or goals. Perhaps we can collaborate on something new and create a new story together.

I'm a decent guitar player and if you sing/play, it would be great to collaborate or just jam for fun.

I’ve been a software engineer for over a decade and done a little bit of everything. Now I specialize a bit more on the front end (React/JavaScript). If you are interested in learning about software, I can definitely help give some context.

I love food. I was working on filling out my kitchen supplies during quarantine. I’m no chef, but I’m always down to make food. I equally enjoy healthy and unhealthy cooking.

If there's a bike available, let's go ride somewhere awesome!

Countries I’ve Visited

Czech Republic, Denmark, England, France, Hungary, Italy, Mexico, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Ukraine, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Ukraine, United States