I'm born and raised near Washington DC, but an expatriate at heart. I love my native city, but as with many things I love it most at a distance.
I travel a fair bit, by whatever means available to me, but anything that puts me closer to a non-packaged experience of a place is preferable. I generally dislike guidebooks and tours and that sort of thing but I try to be aware of the fact that my time is finite and sometimes the shortcuts are worthwhile.
But mostly, I'd be happy to spend my entire life totally lost.

When not traveling, I'm an experimental physicist. But I like to travel more.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I've hosted folks, I've surfed with folks, I've attended events with folks. Pretty normal stuff.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I've done a lot of couchsurfing through friends of friends before. I like tenting the best, pitching tents in folks' yards, because I'm out of the people's way at that point. I always feel like I'm encroaching when I'm staying in someone's flat. However, I recognize it isn't always possible, and am religious about the 1 sq m rule.

Best story I have is sleeping on an air mattress in Madrid - the room was literally the size of the bed and the air matress, and I had to keep the host's schedule to the minute to avoid keeping her from her job.

Interests

I'm kind of obsessive about accumulating knowledge. If you can explain something to me, I will gladly listen to you, and then argue with you about it.

• writing
• cooking
• cocktails
• traveling
• physics
• tours

Music, Movies, and Books

I consume a _ton_ of media. I tend to go through a pretty wide variety of stuff, but have an absolute preference for the dark, the surreal, or the particularly superlative. I'm willing to listen/watch/read most anything someone I care about recommends to me, and otherwise I'll give myself little research projects (example: electronic music is quite popular here in the Netherlands, so I started listening to a list of top DJs to gain some understanding of the field).

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I love sunrises. Just watching them. The fact that the sun rises every day is one of the most amazing things I have ever had the joy to witness. Ask me about sunrises and I will get really excited at you.

Teach, Learn, Share

I don't rightfully know what I could teach. I'm pretty good at explaining high-end physics in bars, using cocktail napkins and spoons and stuff, but I can do that sort of thing with most any subject I have a pretty good grasp of.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can cook pretty much anything. Obviously there are limits, but I pride myself on subverting those limits. Suggest me a thing and let's give it a try.
I have other things I'm good at too but apparently writing a profile isn't one of them and everything else I've tried here comes off as to self-aggrandizing.

Countries I’ve Lived In

Germany, Mozambique, Netherlands, United Kingdom, United States

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