CURRENT MISSION

Self-transcendence

ABOUT ME

I don't necessarily define myself by what I do for a living. So much of what I think about and value in human life only occasionally manifests itself in the jobs I perform each day--although I'm working to change that. Writing is the principle means by which I compensate for the human potential in myself and others that is squandered on a daily basis. Fortunately, almost all my areas of interest--teaching, traveling, and composing music--are environments which allow me to ask questions and generate ideas I hope, in the words of Brian Eno "are better in other people's heads than they were" in mine.

PHILOSOPHY

Make yourself necessary to somebody.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I plan to keep teaching and traveling for the foreseeable future so opening my door to fellow adventurers is a small way of expressing my gratitude to everyone who has opened their homes and lives to me during my extensive travels. A list of people I've met or hosted in Morocco is below.

February 2012 *Martin Lobert - Argentina* Tymoteusz Woźniak - Poland *Weronika Nowacka - Poland
January 2012 *Cornelia Steinigen (and Nathalie) - Germany *Tatiana Shemberova - Russia *Tim Alcon - USA *Tymoteusz Woźniak - Poland
December 2011 *Corina Georgescu - Romania
November 2011 *Tymoteusz Woźniak - Poland *Oliver Gaebe - Germany Abdelhadi Alissaoui - Morocco
October 2011*Santa Vinklere - Latvia Abdu Chouiyakh - Morocco/USA
September 2011 *Benedict Porter - UK
August 2011 *Alex Gillespie - UK Laurie Shapiro - USA*Paul Coover - USA
July 2011 Catherine Kirchman- USA
June 2011 *Eric Helgoth - USA
May 2011 Aaron Cohen - USA *Kristen Tonga - USA
April 2011 *Uroš Lačen - Slovenia *Kyle Jame - USA
March 2011 *Charles McCool - USA *Gloria Lee - Canada
February 2011 *Lauren McCawley - USA
January 2011 *Araik Vietinghoff - Russia Alex Gish - USA
August 2010 *Michael Lennon - Ireland Elizabeth Lheureux (Australia) and El Habib Louai (Morocco)
July 2010 Kimberly Smith - USA
June 2010 *Augustin Orona (and Belen) - Argentina *Didem Yucel and Serkan Akyuz - Turkey
May 2010 *Carlos Morales - Canary Islands (Spain)
April 2010 *Patricia Patkovszky (and Jens) - Germany *Bradley Heinz - USA
March 2010 *Santiago Saint Pierre - Argentina *Asta (Lithuania) and Antonio Bastos - Portugal *Greg Laufer (and Laura) - USA
January 2010 *Abbie Donaldson (and Warren) - Australia *James Fassbender - USA *Rafal Gryszkiewicz and Marta Sielska - Poland
November 2009 Sabrina Gaudio - Netherlands *Morris Bottiger (and Tintin) - Sweden
October 2009 Mary Leighton - Vancouver, Canada

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Back in December 2003, I was in Casablanca on my way back to the States to visit family for the holidays when the airport was abruptly closed due to foggy weather. A couple of friends I'd just met were contemplating a ragged evening of sleep in the airport when a jovial man from Wales offered to let us sleep in his apartment in Rabat - one hour away. We accepted without hesitation and he drove us back to the airport the following day. All of us missed our connecting flights in Amsterdam and once again our Welsh friend (who was visiting a close friend in the city) offered to put all of us up for the night. I'll never forget his generosity and I'm still waiting for the opportunity to help someone else in a similar situation.

Interests

Long-distance running, cycling, music (composition/performance), writing (essays, music reviews, collaborative short stories, teaching traveling experiences), films, photography, traveling, exchanging ideas, living according to my own principles.

• writing
• books
• literature
• performing arts
• photography
• cooking
• marathon
• running
• politics
• movies
• traveling
• music
• cycling
• history

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies:
Baraka, Wings of Desire, Crimes and Misdemeanors, The Sweet Hereafter, Waking Life, Before Sunset, Another Woman, The Battle of Algiers, The 400 Blows, Amelie, Jacob's Ladder, Farewell My Concubine, Betty Blue, Delicatessen, Bob Roberts, Defending Your Life, Barton Fink
Bands:
Talk Talk, The Drift, Rachel's, Hood, Pinback, Grizzly Bear, Death Cab for Cutie, Hood, Portishead, Radiohead, Bark Psychosis, Labradford, Massive Attack, David Sylvian, Dead Can Dance, The Remote Viewer, Cocteau Twins, Kristin Hersh, L'Altra, The Legendary Pink Dots, William Basinski, Isengrind
Books:
F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby
Dawn Powell: Turn, Magic Wheel
Ryszard Kapuscinski: The Shadow of the Sun
Amin Maalouf: Samarkand
Tom Robbins: Still Life with Woodpecker
Alice Munro: The Love of a Good Woman
Tobias Wolff: The Night in Question
Jeannette Winterson: Written on the Body
Robert Graves: I, Claudius
Marjane Satrapi: Persepolis
Gore Vidal: Burr
Haruki Murakami: Norwegian Wood
Truman Capote: The Grass Harp
Oscar Wilde: The Picture of Dorian Gray
Albert Camus: The Plague
Edith Wharton: The House of Mirth
Charles Baxter: The Feast of Love
Herman Hesse: Magister Ludi (The Glass Bead Game)
James Joyce: The Dubliners
Jonathan Franzen: Freedom
Richard Ford: The Lay of the Land
Gonzalo Torné: Divorce Is In the Air

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

1) Sitting near the Cliffs of Moher on a windy day in October, watching sunlight sparkle (like fireflies) through the ocean mist blowing up - and over - the cliffs and knowing the moment would never be repeated.

2) A beautiful but soul-searching 25-km climb on a mountain bike with my friend Raghu as we left Kosovo and crossed into Montenegro. One of the most physically challenging things I've ever done.

3) Watching the sunrise from a hilltop in Kyoto with a few of my closest Japanese friends. Sadly, we haven't seen each other since then.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can answer almost any question about teaching, living abroad, marathon training, and long-distance running. I am very passionate about history, philosophy, politics, music, film, photography, literature, and ESL teaching. I'm always interested in learning how to cook your favorite dish.

What I Can Share with Hosts

1 My favorite music (I make compilations every 3-4 months and email them to friends all over the world) and books 2 Fun places to go (and running and cycling routes) in Minneapolis 3 Almost everything you ever wanted to know about teaching and running.

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Aruba, Belgium, Benin, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cayman Islands, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kosovo, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malawi, Malaysia, Mexico, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Norway, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Vatican City State, Viet Nam, Virgin Islands, U.S.

Countries I’ve Lived In

China, India, Japan, Morocco, Romania, Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey, United States

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