CURRENT MISSION

See awesome rocks! And people and places, I guess...but mostly rocks! Seriously, though, right now, in between studying, I'm trying to get to see as much of amazing New Zealand as I can, and other countries when I get the chance!

PHILOSOPHY

Be kind. Do things that make others happy. Laughing a lot is good.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Meeting people who have had different experiences than your own is really interesting!

I tried couchsurfing with a friend for the first time for a couple days in Oregon and had a great experience with awesome hosts that were super friendly, willing to help on short notice, and excited to show us their home.

I finally got to try it again here in NZ and had another wonderful experience, so I can't wait to try again soon!

Interests

Nature
Hiking
Skiing
Volcanoes
Learning languages -- the reason I have so many listed that I'm "learning" is that I figure if I can't be fluent in a second language, I can at least know bits and pieces of lots of them, so I'll seize on any excuse I can find (like making a new friend from another country) to start learning a bit more!
Books
Tennis
Cooking
Traveling and learning new things about people and places that are different than where I come from

• books
• cooking
• traveling
• hiking
• skiing
• tennis
• languages

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: Lots of classic rock and some modern stuff, too (and I always like to find new music in other languages!); Neil Young, Dire Straits, Bruce Springsteen, Midnight Oil, Jethro Tull, Dispatch, Guster, Blitzen Trapper, Fito y Fitipaldis, Premiata Forneria Marconi, etc.

Books: Novels by Kurt Vonnegut (Cat's Cradle is my favorite!), Martin Cruz Smith, the His Dark Materials trilogy, Harry Potter, Shadow of the Wind

Films: A Few Good Men, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, anything by the Coen brothers, Star Wars

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I climbed Mt. Taranaki (a 2500m tall volcano in NZ) two days in a row with 10L of water and lots of other stuff in my pack for my research. Pretty brutal but worth it!

Just recently got to see Yasur volcano in Vanuatu, my first time seeing a real live eruption--big moment for a geologist!

Teach, Learn, Share

I love learning new cultural things, and happy to share what I've encountered on my travels. I'd love to practice languages with you (if I know them) or teach or learn how to cook a new dish.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Hopefully I can tell you a story that will make you laugh, or teach you something new from a place I've been. Or at least maybe cook you dinner! ;-)

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Canada, Chile, England, France, Vanuatu

Countries I’ve Lived In

Italy, New Zealand, United States