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As of fall 2022, I am living in the United States once again -- it will be a while before I can host people in my new place, but I'm looking forward to it!
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CURRENT MISSION

I'm currently in my third year of teaching English overseas - I taught for one year in Georgia, and now I am on my second year in Austria. I'm hoping to improve my various foreign languages, get to know the region and country better, meet wonderful people along the way, and do my best to stay sane in balanced in the time of coronavirus.

ABOUT ME

I'm a student from Baltimore who's loved travel from a young age. I think of myself as a respectful, responsible, open-minded and friendly. I love both the city and the country, traveling long distances overland, meeting new people and gaining perspectives on different ways of life.

PHILOSOPHY

I strive to live with three main things in mind: passion, awareness (of myself and of the world) and flexibility. I believe the world to be absolutely worth exploring because it's the only home we'll ever have, at least in my lifetime. And I think it's important for those who are able to step outside their comfort zones, and learn from people who grew up in circumstances very different from their own.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Most of my CS experience has been as a surfer, and socially, to meet up with other folks in a new city. I hosted a few surfers in Akhaltsikhe, Georgia, where I lived for a few months before the coronavirus pandemic. I'm hoping to do some more hosting again in the near future.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I've used Couchsurfing extensively in Europe, and a few times in the US and Canada - I've yet to have a bad experience, and I'm looking forward exploring more of North America and places further afield in the next few years.

Interests

Linguistics, history, philosophy, programming, geography, anthropology, all forms of media and art (literature, music, films, video games, drawing, painting)

• literature
• cooking
• movies
• traveling
• painting
• drawing
• music
• anthropology
• communications
• computer science
• geography
• history
• languages
• philosophy
• science
• translation

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: Rock, electronic, hip-hop, folk, ambient, funk, jazz, pop -- anything, really. Been on a bossa nova kick recently. Some favorites: Beck, Boards of Canada, Radiohead, Stars of the Lid, Oneohtrix Point Never, Hot Chip, Thundercat, Grouper, Sharon Van Etten, Tim Hecker, Grizzly Bear, Aesop Rock. I'm always looking for new music, especially from people I meet while traveling. So hopefully your favorites can become mine too.

Books: Science fiction, historical fiction, novels, atlases, graphic novels, travelogues and memoirs are my favorite. Recently reading German graphic novels, Steinbeck and some art history.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Spent five days traveling up the Amu Darya, the border of Tajikistan and Afghanistan, with a friend I met in the Dushanbe -- we hiked, camped, met locals and spent a lot of time just sitting and soaking up the unbelievable beauty of the place.

Teach, Learn, Share

I could teach you a bit of Russian, a speck of Georgian (including their alphabets), and maybe some scattered phrases in German and Japanese.

I have a few home recipes I can try out on you -- as well as a truly heroic amount of useless trivia.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I love to share experiences, music and drawings (my own) with folks that I travel with -- I'd be happy to leave you with a portrait or sketch from our time together, or a few phrases in a different language. I'm eager to help cook, clean, or help out however I can when I'm staying with somebody!

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, French Polynesia, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Vatican City State, Wales

Countries I’ve Lived In

Austria, Georgia, United States