CURRENT MISSION

Seeking the answers to questions

ABOUT ME

I was once born in Lyon France. After three years of my life I decided to kick the French habit and moved on. It was only April 2014 before I went back to see what I had left behind.

My first word was an unbelievably complex word "encore" which in french means "again" for when I was fed I always wanted more food. I still live by that mantra.

What happened after that was a series of movements from France to Philadelphia PA, to Beijing China and back to Philadelphia. My childhood was an array of mixed cultures, I was constantly being submersed into different buckets of paint then yanked out just to be placed into another one just as I was getting used to the color.

Like any other middle class suburban American-Chinese son (whose first word was a French one), I had the option of going to college or going to college - so I chose to go to college. and I studied the way things with wings work. Some people call it being an aerospace engineer, some people call it a rocket scientist, I usually refer to myself as Jacques the boy who liked the idea of not being on ground level.

Post college was a confusing one. After a trans-american bike tour, I ended up on a funny adventure chasing drilling rigs back and forth around the WV, PA, OH area. They called me a field engineer, gave me a hard hat and told me to sit in a trailer for 12 hours a day looking at a computer screen, then spend the rest of the 12 hours grazing, sleeping, and watching Fox News. I didn't think that this was my calling at all, but sometimes someone somewhere can just blind you into doing something for some or lots of money and a 401k.

It took me 1 year 8 months and a trip to Jackson Hole Wyoming to finally rub the cataracts out of my eye. Here in this beautiful valley lay a group of special humans who come from far and wide in pursuit of their outdoor passions. Out of this experience came the crazy idea that I can chase my passions as well. Sometimes it just takes some fresh mountain air.

PHILOSOPHY

Being self contained and to be able to pick up everything to my name and put it in my car and go somewhere.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I host people a lot here in Jackson in the summer. This place is magical but it can be pretty steep just to find a place to sleep. I've been thankful for the surfing I've done in Europe and I also love sharing all that is Jackson Hole.
I love traveling but there are so many different ways to travel it that can alter your experience completely. Living in a destination resort town I see how different the "tourist" experience and my experience of Jackson Hole can be. I want to experience a place the way it was meant to be, immersion into the local culture. The ONLY way to do that is to have a genuine local share their life and area with me.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have been roommates to multiple couchsurfers now and I finally got around to getting on it myself. As mentioned before, I live in a destination town that is very popular with travelers. This past summer I shared my couch with a dozen different CS groups that came through Jackson Hole. Every experience has been positive. Some are just looking for a place to rest their head after a long day or driving or hiking, and I respect that. Some are looking for the true local happenings and culture around Jackson and that is what I love to share. I realized that that is what I want when I travel to a new place.

Interests

Biking - mountains, roads, and snow. Mostly mountains at the moment. But I love bike touring and did one across america.
Flying - in airplanes or under a paraglider wing. both of which I am in pursuit of mastering currently.
Running - usually when biking isn't an option. But I hail from a competitive runner background so I will always love it and do it.
Kayaking/Rafting/floating - more accessible than flying but it also gets me off the ground in to the water
Free food
Photography
Thinking. on ways things work. How mechanical machines work, how society functions, how a process transforms something into something else. Always thinking of how a system works, so I can beat it - within legal/moral boundaries of course. Moral boundaries should be discussed in another section.

• arts
• culture
• photography
• coloring
• dining
• breakfast
• running
• partying
• flying
• news
• traveling
• painting
• outdoor activities
• cycling
• hiking
• kayaking
• surfing
• olympics
• paragliding
• engineering
• history
• law
• science
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

Movie: ATL.
Music: Folk, EDM, Drake.
Books: Gone Girl

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Being in the middle of a street party in Beijing China on opening day of the 2008 Summer Olympics. I could feel the swelling pride and joy of 1.3 billion citizens of a country with 2000 years of history culminating at that event. It's an overwhelming one.

Teach, Learn, Share

If you find me, I could teach you how to make a flipping fantastic breakfast.
I am also a decent human with a fair knowledge of bicycle knowledge. I could teach you the art and zen of bicycle maintenance.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Monaco, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Switzerland

Countries I’ve Lived In

China, France, United States

•