CURRENT MISSION

prepping for the next trip...

ABOUT ME

In the Fall of 2004, I stepped off of a plane in Cairo, Egypt, in my first adventure with independent travel at the beginning of my study abroad trip. I was 18 years old, and, for all intents and purposes, I'd never really left my country before. I was dropped off in the middle of Tahrir Square, with the instructions "The dorms aren't open yet. This hotel in front of you has cheap rooms. See you in a week."

At that moment, I realized I was at a crossroads. I had never been in a situation like this before. I had never been in a situation where I couldn't really control my surroundings like this. I had *certainly* never been in a city this large before!

I could freak the hell out and curl up into a ball, or, I could say 'screw it', and let things happen as they may.

I've been doing it ever sense.

PHILOSOPHY

A life worth living is one where you get to do and see as much as possible, and there's no use ever falling into a rut.

Pourquoi je suis sur Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I've kinda gone crazy with the surfing ever since my 2009 Africa/Europe trip. And now that I have a place that can host in San Francisco, I can't wait to start showing people my lovely city!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I've stayed with the following characters:

A street-talking, graffiti-writing, hip-hopping, gay and proud Dutchman
A loving, picture-perfect suburban family with three kids. The father took me out on the town and the next morning, we agreed never to speak of what happened.
A juggler with dreads like woah.
The Supermodels. They're not actually supermodels, but I pretended they were.
An 18 year old artist that spoke 6 languages who lived in a mansion.
The coolest graphic designer in Birmingham who can take you to the elusive gay chav bar.
An 8 foot tall Moroccan who is the undisputed KING of Salsa of Casablanca.
Thomas. Thomas is awesome.
A fellow charity worker that, with our powers combined, raised with me hundreds of £££ for the homeless in Cardiff.

and MUCH MUCH MORE!

Centres d'intérêt

I travel a lot. I mean, a lot a lot. Out of the last 20 years, I estimate that I've had that backpack on for somewhere between a quarter to a third of it. So I'm always interested in talking about travel talk!

One of the main reasons I travel is to experience other cultures and traditions, especially how cultures manifest themselves in an environment of modernity. So if you have something to share about that, like contemporary underground movies or music or poetry from wherever you're from, I'll get really really excited.

I'm also really into in-depth discussions about interesting topics - I like talking about *ideas* more than anything, and if you get a drink or two in me, I'll get into wide-eyed discussions about existentialism, hyperreality, the French situationists, urban design and its impact on modern mindsets, gender and sexualities, and consumerism.

I also have a strong interest in history and politics. I like to stay well-informed about the places I've visited or would like to visit.

My big-time nerdy interest is in language - I'll talk your ear off about language if you'll let me.

I also *love* to try new foods. Feed me something I've never had before and you'll definitely win me over!

• writing
• poetry
• design
• graphic design
• environment
• drinking
• politics
• movies
• traveling
• music
• hiking
• backpacking
• surfing
• history
• languages
• philosophy
• study abroad
• linguistics
• language

Morceaux de musique, films et livres

I like the quirky indie stuff, but I'm really open minded about our entertainment. I absolutely love getting exposed to the local music and art scenes in any place I go - I love seeing the intersection of modern art, music, and culture with the traditional, historic cultures of wherever I am.

Une aventure extraordinaire que j'ai vécue

I've...

Hitchhiked all the way around the coast of Wales.

Traveled through Iraq in 2006 as one of the first independent tourists since the war.

Personally witnessed the first real elections that Burma has ever seen.

Visited the one and only public shrine to Santa Muerte, in Tepito, Mexico City.

Danced until dawn at *huge* Vodou goat sacrifice ceremony on Christmas day in Jacmel, Haiti.

Got bitten in the butt by a deer in Nara, Japan.

Traveled from Cairo, Egypt to Cairo, Illinois, USA without taking an airplane.

Met the king of the Dagomba in Yendi, Ghana.

Took a bouncy, 19 hour ride strapped to the back of a pickup truck through the Sahara desert to Timbuktu.

Got attacked by tons of leeches on a grueling 9 hour hike through the highlands of Laos, then got piss-drunk with the headman of the village I stayed at, then got attacked by tons *more* leeches on the 9 hour hike back the next morning.

and...a lot more...

Enseignez, apprenez, partagez

I can teach you how to write your name in a bunch of different languages around the world!

I also know a whole lot about San Francisco and I love to teach people about the history and legends of my beautiful city.

Pays que j'ai visités

Armenia, Belgium, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, China, Cyprus, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Haiti, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Laos, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritania, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar, Netherlands, Niger, Norway, Portugal, Russian Federation, Senegal, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, Togo, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Viet Nam, Western Sahara

Pays dans lesquels j'ai vécu

Egypt, Indonesia, Thailand, United States