CURRENT MISSION

To connect, exchange stories, eat good food, laugh with strangers, explore.

ABOUT Us

We are a husband and wife team of adventurers. As many people on here, we have an insatiable curiosity about other cultures, traditions, places, food, languages, etc. We believe in the inter-connectivity of the human experience. Nate grew up in Muree and Sialkot, Pakistan for most of his childhood and moved back to America in high school. Sasha grew up in rural Michigan in a tiny village called Maybee. We met working at a wonderful non-profit organization called Culture is Not Optional and a year and a half later we got married and then swiftly moved abroad again to live in Amaty, Kazakhstan. Now we've moved back to Michigan and are looking to settle down here as we start our family.

PHILOSOPHY

We believe in people and the stories that make people up. We believe in the universality of the human experience and the beauty of communality and see Couchsurfing as a wonderful way to share in that experience. We believe in slow food, homemade, craftsmanship, intentional living, and taking the scenic route.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

We have been long-time travelers on here and love the variety of people we meet and the stories we hear.

Interests

We're passionate about human interaction and community in all its forms. We have lived in an intentional community and worked on an organic farm. We're both passionate about the slow food movement, and are happy to cook for any hosts we encounter. However, we also staunchly are against judging others lifestyles. We love long talks into the night and also are game for an early morning hike. We love board games. We love spontaneous adventures.

• animals
• culture
• writing
• literature
• photography
• coffee
• gardening
• homesteading
• woodworking
• hiking
• anthropology
• languages
• science
• food
• nature
• storytelling
• religions
• chai
• animal husbandry

Music, Movies, and Books

Books:
-Just Kids: Patti Smith
-The Secret History: Donna Tartt
-Never Let Me Go: Kazuo Ishiguro
-Brideshead Revisited: Evelyn Waugh
-Mrs. Dalloway: Virginia Woolf

Movies:
-Stranger Than Paradise
-A Woman Under the Influence
-Revolutionary Road
-Tree of Life
-Babel
-Babette's Feast
-A Single Man
-Beasts of the Southern Wild

Music:
-Johnnyswim
-Gregory Alan Isakov
-King Charles
-Lana Del Rey
-Lorde
-Ben Howard
-Johnny Swim
-Bon Iver
-Daughter

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

In 2015 Nate took 5 months and hiked the Appalachian Trail. He walked from Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine. Alexandra drove from Michigan to Maine and met him and hiked Katahdin with him. It was the first mountain she ever climbed. Then they stayed in a completely off-grid cabin for four days sleeping, canoeing and cooking steaks on the campfire.

Teach, Learn, Share

We LOVE to learn new skills and offer our own. We can teach:

Sasha:
-cooking skills
-kombucha brewing
-food fermentation
-basic herbalism and making tinctures
-In-depth information about birth/doula support
-horse riding instruction (note: we do not currently have a horse in Almaty)
-hand sewing & basic knitting
-manuscript review & editorial input
-gardening/plant growing

Nate:
-Teaching any basic science concepts
-cooking
-woodworking
-charpai-making
-chai-making
-camping/hiking help
-wilderness survival

What I Can Share with Hosts

Conversation, adventure buddies, chocolate, cooking skills, manual labor, and any of the above skills.

Countries I’ve Visited

Bahamas, Bangladesh, Canada, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Nepal, Northern Ireland, Pakistan, Romania, Singapore, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Kazakhstan, Pakistan, United Kingdom, United States