ABOUT ME

Grew up in Massachusetts and got an Undergraduate degree in geology at Northeastern University where I also got into hiking, climbing, kayaking and spelunking. Worked for a while in Colorado, more climbing and also biking. Went to the Peace Corps in the Philippines and got into SCUBA and free diving and studying volcanoes. Came back and started a Master's at Michigan Technological University in geologic hazards, now a PhD student at Tech in Environmental Engineering. Primary research is particle analysis of biomass cooking in sub-Saharan Africa and design thinking of appropriate technologies. Now I hike, bike, ice fish, hunt, ski, snow shoe, and ride my motorcycle in the summer times while trying to finish my dissertation.

PHILOSOPHY

There are many ways to negotiate life

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Hosted someone in the Philippines back in 2007 and have not been on the sight in a very long time. Planning a trip on my bike across the great lakes and Canada, over to the North East United States and hoping to get back into it.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Only hosted once and my friends have hosted a couple people and helped show them around. Looking forward to hosting again and meeting some new people.

Interests

Other than the outdoors stuff listed above I love spending time with my new baby girl, Mayona, and teaching her new things. Also enjoy volunteering and spending time with the elderly people in my community.

• fish
• design
• cooking
• technology
• outdoor activities
• cycling
• fishing
• hiking
• kayaking
• spelunking
• hunting
• scuba diving
• sailing
• skiing
• rock climbing
• astronomy
• engineering
• geology
• volunteering
• lakes

Music, Movies, and Books

I read many genres. Thinking back on my favorite books of all time: Ishmael for a good earthy book, Guns Germs and Steel for one of my favorite non-fiction books, Atlas Shrugged for challenging my beliefs, Jitterbug Perfume because Tom Robbins is great, and of course I have to pick a Marquez book (can't believe he just died! So sad...) One Hundred Years of Solitude. Lately, I have been reading Mary Roach (Awesome!) and Malcolm Gladwell for good and fun non-fiction and I have a guilty pleasure of Harry Potter and other teen reads. I also had to pick up Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance again in preparation of my trip. Like all music but listen to blue grass lately. Current Pandora stations are Trampled by Turtles and Mumford and Sons. Movies... love 80's movie nights! Ghostbusters, Princess Bride, Airplane, etc.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Most amazing thing I have seen is while sailing from Florida to Bermuda and crossing the Gulf Stream a pod of dolphins swam in our bow wake at night and the bio-luminescence looked like comets shooting through the water. It was pretty amazing.

Teach, Learn, Share

Things I could teach: geology, about volcanoes and natural hazards, appropriate technology and international aid projects, and probably something about sailing and astronomy too.

Countries I’ve Visited

Bermuda, Canada, Netherlands

Countries I’ve Lived In

Philippines, Tanzania, United States