CURRENT MISSION

traveling around China

ABOUT ME

I'm down-to-earth, easygoing, vegetarian, love meeting new people and sharing experiences. I love anything from relaxing and having a beer or glass of wine to climbing mountains to a night on the town. I love the beach. I like playing piano, dancing, fiddling with my harmonica or any other instrument I can make noise with. I am happy with the simple pleasures in life.

Stranded on an island, you can take 3 things. Go!
A computer with unlimited wifi and an never-ending supply of coffee. That's all I need, and I'm a happy camper. Not sure what the third one would be. I'll get back to you.

PHILOSOPHY

Understanding is true enlightenment, experiencing is the catalyst of understanding.

I think that all conflict comes from misunderstanding. And understanding is what unites us.

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I am never the same person I was before, but I want to live to be the person I am tomorrow.

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In the end, we are all people, we have the same basic needs, the same feelings, we have desires; of course, we are different in many ways (culture, background, experience), but down the basics, there's a lot that we can relate to.

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"Don't Panic."

One of my favorite quotes by Douglas Adams. Panic is the point where emotions take over and one fails to stop thinking.

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The only thing you control is your will. Everything else is out of your hands. That being said, the will is a quite powerful tool.

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Other than this, I'm atheist, but I pick and choose philosophies from all backgrounds that work for me. I love talking about philosophy and learning from other people and am a firm believer in individuals' choosing what works for them, personal preference as far as philosophy goes.

I'm also a moral relativist.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Right now, my current participation is surfing and spreading the word of the CS project. I'm living at my parent's house for the next few months so no couch to offer at this particular time.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I'm still quite new to couch surfing. Currently, I don't have a place to host surfers at, but I hope to in the future.

I feel like just by reading more peoples' profiles I am learning how to be a better host and surfer. I really appreciate the people who put a lot of effort into their profiles.

Interests

swimming, reading, wandering and getting lost in new places, playing learning Chinese while usually playing one of my favorite games: charades, cooking and trying new food (I'm vegetarian), KTV, dancing, playing word scrabble, coffee/beer/wine, beach, playing the piano/harmonica/tambourine/guitar

• culture
• dancing
• dining
• cooking
• wine
• beer
• coffee
• vegetarian
• drinking
• reading
• traveling
• guitar
• piano
• camping
• surfing
• atheism
• rock climbing
• swimming
• law
• beaches
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

Really bad with favorites since they change but here are some things I like:

Movies: Amelie, Momento, When Harry Met Sally, Mel Brooks' films, documentaries, movies that make you go "hmm...", sap for romantic comedies, musicals, classics.

Music: iron and wine, detektivbyran, yann tierson, yeah yeah yeahs, beatles, hans zimmer ... any music with accordians or musical saws, indie/folk/classic rock music, some electro-pop/techno/dance, in love with movie soundtracks,

Books: Sophie's World (Jostein Gaarder), Brave New World (Aldous Huxley), The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry), Santa Visits the Thingumajigs (Irene Keller), Black Comedy (Peter Shaffer), The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams). Enjoy reading books on philosophy, plays, classics, dystopian novels, children's books by Roald Dahl, David Sedaris' books, so on.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I climbed a small mountain in Jiangxi province in Longhu Shan Park, and I was literally on top of the world. Moments like that when I feel really connected, generally around nature, stand out the most to me.

Also, seeing The Great Wall was memorable.

Teach, Learn, Share

Okay, so I know I've already quoted Douglas Adams... but you know.

One or two Americans have asked me why it is that the English like tea so much, which never seems to them to be a very good drink. To understand, you have to know how to make it properly.

There is a very simple principle to the making of tea and it's this - to get the proper flavour of tea, the water has to be boiling (not boiled) when it hits the tea leaves. That's why we English have these odd rituals, such as warming the teapot first (so as not to cause the boiling water to cool down too fast as it hits the pot). And that's why the American habit of bringing a teacup, a tea bag and a pot of hot water to the table is merely the perfect way of making a thin, pale, watery cup of tea that nobody in their right mind would want to drink. The Americans are all mystified about why the English make such a big thing out of tea because most Americans have never had a good cup of tea. That's why they don't understand. In fact the truth of the matter is that most English people don't know how to make tea any more either, and most people drink cheap instant coffee instead, which is a pity, and gives Americans the impression that the English are just generally clueless about hot stimulants.

So the best advice I can give to an American arriving in England is this. Go to Marks and Spencer and buy a packet of Earl Grey tea. Go back to where you're staying and boil a kettle of water. While it is coming to the boil, open the sealed packet and sniff. Careful - you may feel a bit dizzy, but this is in fact perfectly legal. When the kettle has boiled, pour a little of it into a tea pot, swirl it around and tip it out again. Put a couple (or three, depending on the size of the pot) of tea bags into the pot (If I was really trying to lead you into the paths of righteousness I would tell you to use free leaves rather than bags, but let's just take this in easy stages). Bring the kettle back up to the boil, and then pour the boiling water as quickly as you can into the pot. Let it stand for two or three minutes, and then pour it into a cup. Some people will tell you that you shouldn't have milk with Earl Grey, just a slice of lemon. Screw them. I like it with milk. If you think you will like it with milk then it's probably best to put some milk into the bottom of the cup before you pour in the tea. If you pour milk into a cup of hot tea you will scald the milk. If you think you will prefer it with a slice of lemon then, well, add a slice of lemon.

Drink it. After a few moments you will begin to think that the place you've come to isn't maybe quite so strange and crazy after all.

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

China, United States

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