CURRENT MISSION

Learn to love.

ABOUT ME

I'm a young lad that likes to play with words and balls of yarn. I believe strongly in community & loving other people above all things. 2009 was a year of change and some significant loss. I am on a journey of rediscovering God and my place on Earth. I have the simple goal of learning to love all people. My true passions are ice climbing, photography, rock climbing, and social interaction.

PHILOSOPHY

"Hospitality should not be limited to its literal sense of receiving a stranger in our house - although it is important never to forget and neglect that! - but as a fundamental attitude toward our fellow human being, which can be expressed in a great variety of ways." Henri Nouwen

Couchsurfing gives me faith in humanity. To be a part of a community which so actively cares for it's members, yet not knowing all the members, makes me feel excited. Two of the most wonderful things meet head on here: love & adventure. Combined with the initial trust it always takes, couchsurfing is really a rush of love!

I love love & life!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

** THE COUCH IS BACK, BABY! **
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I will be moving to a cabin a few miles out of town on May 1st. So it may be best not to request to be hosted within a few days either side of that. But if you really need to, you could ask me and I might if I really think I'd regret not meeting you :) And perhaps we could use some box movers ;)

I love hosting people, so read my profile and send me a message! Looking forward to meeting you already!
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I believe in communities. I believe in giving. And I love to meet and host people. Therefore, I am way excited about hosting people - more so than being hosted. I believe that I receive as a host, not just as a guest. I have met some of the best people through couchsurfing and always feel sad for the reality: little time & great distances. But truly enduring relationships are created here, which I'm so thankful for.
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This summer I plan on climbing often and hard. But one of my passions lies in teaching, too. When we climb, we are not "number crunchers." We like to be outside, we like to be around people and have fun, and we occasionally like to scare ourselves shitless.

DEPENDING on what I've got going, I'd love to take you rock climbing, even if you've never been before. We've probably taken 50 or more first time climbers out now and are extremely safe. It is an incredible way to experience the Needles of South Dakota. If you are interested in this, it is best to let me know ahead of time, and let me know your shoe size. From there, I would let you know if I indeed have time to take you :)

Many surfers even have fun just being in the beautiful places where we climb, chilling in the meadows, maybe climbing a route or two, or sitting under a boulder on a wyoming ranch and smoking. It's all fun.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I climbed Devil's Tower once and a couchsurfer who I had not yet met ended up taking pictures of me and my friends climbing. We only found out two days later when he surfed my friend Scott's couch and showed us pictures of us climbing! He had no idea that it was us! One of the most interesting coincidences of my life.

My first Couchsurfing experience was with a couple from Denmark who stayed at my place. I took them off-roading in the black hills, but my jeep had a few small problems...and we nearly didn't make it out of the hills without freezing. I experienced true forgiveness in an adventure that went wrong.

Again speaking of car problems...once I had to hitch hike 30 miles with a friend from Germany, Andi, because my car broke down.

My latest coincidence: my friend Maria from Finland came to surf with me for about 2 weeks. That morning, we said goodbye and she began hitch hiking down to Colorado. That night, I had to drive a woman down to Chadron, NE with the airport shuttle. On the way there, I received a text message from Maria saying she had only made it as far as Chadron, NE for the night. I called her and told her I was in Chadron for about 15 minutes, so we went and grabbed a Taco at Taco John's. That morning we had said goodbye in South Dakota and wondered where and when we would see each other again. Turned out, it would be the same day in Nebraska.

My experience here: I'm constantly impressed by and love learning about ALL people. It's an experience of unity that binds people together in unexpected ways. I love it.

Interests

Love, people, photography, ice climbing, rock climbing, barn dancing, languages

• photography
• beauty
• dancing
• off-roading
• cars
• bouldering
• hiking
• backpacking
• mountaineering
• surfing
• boxing
• rock climbing
• cartography
• languages
• religion
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

All music, some movies, lots of books. Favorite musical artist: Moby; Favorite movie: A Very Long Engagement; Favorite book: A Prayer For Owen Meany

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

The amazing things I have seen have been either of natural beauty or experiences among people of love.

* Climbed Mt. Fuji
* Climbed Granite Peak in Montana
* Learned to climb frozen waterfalls
* Been on many black hills needles summits
* Seen people transformed by couch surfing

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach you about:

* Climbing Rocks (I often take couch surfers out for
climbing, even first time climbers.)
* Photography (antique and modern)
* Maps
* China
* Computers
* Languages
* Backpacking & Mountaineering
* Mt. Rushmore (I often take couch surfers to Mt.
Rushmore and give them my own version of the tour if
there is time.)
* The Black Hills

I want to learn more about:
* Cars
* World religions & cultures
* All the things I can teach about

Countries I’ve Visited

China, Japan, Taiwan, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

China, United States

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