ABOUT ME

After college, I moved overseas and worked in the international non-profit sector for four years. Then, I came back to the U.S. for grad school. Fast-forward a few years between Greenville, SC & Asheville, NC (with a year-long break for travel), and now I have my PhD!

I'm always trying to find balance in everything. I like traveling to new environments, but I'll also immerse myself within a community. Some people know me for my silliness and wit; others know me for my ambition and passion. My introversion/extroversion is split right down the middle - put me in a room full of new people or alone on a silent meditation retreat, and I'll be happy either way. :)

PHILOSOPHY

Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there is a field. I'll meet you there.
-Rumi

The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.
-Alan Watts

We are all multifaceted beings. Try not to think otherwise and fall prey to society's limiting classifications and polarized dichotomies. You can be both creative and analytical in your life and work. You can be both an artist and a scientist. You can be both a specialist and a generalist. You can be both a leader and a follower. You can be both a local and global citizen. Celebrate and integrate everything. Anyone and everyone can be (and already has the capacity to be) a Renaissance man/woman/person!

Warum ich bei Couchsurfing bin

There's so many adventures to be had and so much community to build. Couchsurfing has helped me on both of these fronts.

Interessen

Things I'm passionate about:
grassroots-level community development, community organizing, youth empowerment and youth development, positive/strengths-based psychology, Buddhist philosophy (mindfulness), Jungian dream analysis, cultural anthropology, anything related to S.E. Asia (history, food, cafe culture, travel), stories that make me laugh-cry

Hobbies that I love:
photography (instagram: hyvhuynh), live music, meditation and yoga, learning hip hop choreography, imbibing good whiskey and bourbon, exploring international street foods, mountain hiking to summits, exploring abandoned buildings (I ain't scurred), listening so attentively to podcasts and public radio that I forget what I'm doing, hosting acoustic music shows / community potlucks / storytelling nights in my living room

• culture
• writing
• photography
• acting
• concerts
• festivals
• dancing
• dining
• yoga
• meditation
• traveling
• podcasts
• music
• live music
• hiking
• soccer
• anthropology
• history
• psychology
• science
• budget travel

Musik, Filme und Bücher

Authors: Thich Nhat Hanh, Mark Epstein, Pablo Neruda, Rainer Maria Rilke
Radio Shows: Radiolab, Wait Wait, The Moth, Buddhist Geeks, Freakonomics, Savage Lovecast
TV Shows: Parks and Recreation, Broad City, Bob's Burgers, anything with Anthony Bourdain or Sir David Attenborough
Movies: Miyazaki films (My Neighbor Totoro), most Wes Anderson films, Tran Anh Hung films, classic horror (The Shining)
Music: Radiohead, Talking Heads, Fleetwood Mac, Velvet Underground, Mac Demarco, Bjork, Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear, Bluegrass, Hip Hop, Classical (Debussy) - I appreciate an eclectic mix. (:

Eine tolle Erfahrung, die ich gemacht habe

A random sampling of my life:
-Represented Vietnam at the 1st ASEAN Blogger's Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
-Spent 10 days on a silent meditation retreat in Battambang, Cambodia
-Lived in a children's home in Hue, Vietnam for a year
-Played tourguide in the Mekong Delta for an NFL football player
-won "Best Male Actor" award for a haunted house in South Carolina

Länder, die ich besucht habe

Aruba, Bahamas, Cambodia, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Morocco, Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, Viet Nam

Länder, in denen ich gelebt habe

Cambodia, United States, Viet Nam