CURRENT MISSION

Enjoy the unknowing, seeing adventure in the ordinary, stretch out time

ABOUT ME

I'm a guy who likes living day-to-day, but also with specific goals in mind (while remaining flexible). I feel like everything can be an adventure, it just depends on one's perspective. I try to surround myself with different groups of friends and enjoy seeing the people from different segments of my life crossover and meet one another. Probably one of the biggest "adventures" is to watch two people I know (but don't know each other) meet for the first time.

PHILOSOPHY

Find the adventure in the ordinary. Learn through living. 活到老学到老。多一个朋友多一条路。

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I live in a hutong in Beijing, which means I have very limited space (not even a couch), so cannot host unless someone is REALLY thin (haha). If you come to Beijing, I would love to help you anyway I can (i.e. take you out for a meal, a drink, or show you some sites). I work as a guide sometimes and I really enjoy it. I like the exchange of stories.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

So far none.

Interests

Of course I enjoy traveling. When I travel, however, I don't need to see beautiful sites, so long as I'm meeting interesting people. I like traveling to find/create stories. I enjoy trying new things, learning languages (Chinese, Japanese, French, sign language). Most importantly, I like challenging myself and using my brain. I have joined 2 different improv groups here in Beijing, one English and one bilingual. I like musical instruments, but haven't practiced in a long time (accordian, banjo, piano, xun). Diabolo 空竹 is one of my favorite games/exercises。Hope to share some of my interests with whoever happens to come my way.

• drinking
• traveling
• piano
• languages
• sign language
• tourism

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Unforgiven, In the Mood for Love, Jaws, The Departed, Lost in Translation, The Man Who Wasn't There, The Prestige

Music: Beck, Tom Waits, Jodie Holland, Gilian Welsh, Cee Lo Green, The Sleigh Bells, Ratatat, Elliot Smith, M. Ward, Louis IV, Imarobot, Fiona Apple

Books: Dragon Lady, Their Eyes Were Watching God, As I Lay Dying, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Founding Brothers, George Washington: His Excellency, Sin City, Old Logan, John Lewis: Walking with the Wind, The Golden Compass

People/Characters: My older brother, Sean Gallagher, Bill Murray, John Lewis (congressman), Alexander Hamilton, 慈禧, 纪晓岚， 曹操， John Adams, Kublai Khan, Christopher Hitchens, David Cross, Morgan Freeman, Brian Michael Bendis, Roald Dahl, Willy Wonka (Gene Wylder version), Daredevil

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

In Cangzhou I visited the unknown grave of the common ancestor of the Hui population in that county. I helped translate for 14 North Koreans on a plane going to the Maldives (using mostly sign language and a paper napkin). I led a tour group of 70 to Inner Mongolia...safe, sound, and happy.