Hello! I’m a thoughtful, curious fella who loves deep conversations and learning new perspectives and worldviews. The human experience is complex, and I feel like I can discover something new every day. I think traveling far from home is a great way to find new worldviews and make new friends, which is why I’m here on Couchsurfing!

I also love board games and being outdoors. I have an optimistic outlook on life, mostly as an optimization tactic. Some situations are inescapably negative, sure. But, in my opinion, the majority of the day-to-day simply /is/, and it is our own expectations that determine whether or not the thing is good or bad.

I often like to think about human relationships: the ways we interact with each other. I also often think about how I can live in ways that uplift not only myself but also my close friends and the people around me.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

There's something magical about making a new friend so far away from home. We're all so different, yet so similar at the same time. You could say I'm on a mission to meet as many people as I can, so that we can share our experiences, live a happy life, and lift up our friends.

Interests

• singing
• photography
• board games
• piano
• hiking
• swimming
• parkour
• stories
• conversation
• adventuring
• the outdoors
• boardgames
• ice cream
• cookies
• musical instruments
• disney
• intriguing conversations

Music, Movies, and Books

BOOKS 📚
Fantasy books and authors. Plus dystopia/sci-fi every once in a while.

- Artemis Fowl (and Eoin Colfer books)
- Everyday (and David Levithan books)
- The Little Prince
- Life of Pi
- Name of the Wind
- Ender's Game
- Phillip K. Dick books
- V for Vendetta, Watchmen
- 1984, Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451, Clockwork Orange, Lord of the Flies
- Stumbing upon Happiness by Daniel Gilbert
- Blink by Malcolm Gladwell

MOVIES 🎥
- Hamilton
- Disney/Pixar
- Studio Ghibli
- Marvel Cinematic Universe (except Deadpool)
- Interstellar, The Dark Knight trilogy
- The Minority Report, Mission Impossible
- Inception, Memento, Her, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
- Black Mirror
- Children of Men, Gravity

MUSIC 🎶
- Vulfpeck, Steely Dan, Fleetwood Mac
- Coldplay
- Simon and Garfunkel, Sufjan Stevens,
- Paper Kites, Passenger, DCFC
- Barenaked Ladies (whimsical band of men!)
- Michael Jackson, Queen
- Anything on Rock Band

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Well, it's more a memory: the stunned silence followed by an eruption of applause.

I was playing a Yann Tiersen piece on the piano. Simple, not fancy or frenetic. But it was for a concert marking the end of a French immersion program in Quebec. It was five weeks of not speaking our mother tongues and I'm sure everyone was exhausted from all the learning and fumbling over words. 🎶

And, here I was, performing a delicate, evocative piece that felt safe, yet a little melancholy. The program was coming to an end.

The audience was quiet for several seconds after I finished, before erupting into a roar of applause. I was awed at the power there, and joyous that I brought a moment of wonder to so many people.
I don't know if I'll ever capture the magic of that night again, but I'll always look back on it fondly.

Teach, Learn, Share

I have some neat board games I can show you! I brought them with me in my luggage, haha. If you're a board games lover we will get along so well.

Always down for conversations about our experiences and worldviews. There is a lot of power and wisdom in being able to see something from multiple angles. I would even argue that empathy is not possible without that perspective shift.

What I Can Share with Hosts

A person you’ll enjoy hanging out with! My company, stories, games, and music. And I can gift you these maple syrup candies from Canada! They are a little too sweet but charmingly Canadian.

And should you ever come to my part of Canada I will certainly welcome you as best as I could! Show you around and give you a place to stay once I'm established.

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada