My name is John Paul but everyone calls me Pope!

A native of Burbank, CA right next to Los Angeles and the Hollywood hills. I spent the last 8 years living in Chicago and only recently left to go exploring.

Normally I work as an accountant, but when I'm free to avoid looking at numbers I'm out and about on the water, dancing, road tripping, camping, trying to figure out how to play music, or just sitting around reading or playing games.

Currently taking advantage of not working or being tied down for the first time in years to travel South America for a bit and try to learn a little Spanish. It's unfortunate that the opportunity happened to line up with covid, but I am fully vaccinated so we'll just have to be careful and work with what we got!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

To meet all you wonderful people and return some of the kindness I've received while traveling!

I was introduced to couch surfing while traveling with a good friend of mine and absolutely loved it! It felt more like finding friends that I didn't know I had yet instead of just signing up for a place to sleep. While the constraints of life may not allow me to host or travel as much as I may like, I hope to return some small part of that feeling to any surfers or hosts I'm fortunate enough to meet in the future!

Music, Movies, and Books

Into that science fiction and fantasy life! Star wars, Dune, Stormlight Archive, Game of Thrones, etc.

Love classic movies, and just spent a month this summer watching through all the old western movies with my father.

Currently cruising through an endless list of Funk and Jazz, and will always love classic rock, but open to music suggestions of all kind! If you think its bomb I want to hear it.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Spent May 2021 road tripping across the US camping in as many national parks as possible, from Chicago to Yellowstone, through the rockies, and up and down the west coast.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Sometimes I manage to bullshit long enough for people to find me funny.

I'm pretty laid back and love to share stories with new people, especially over a drink. I dance swing and bachata decently, play music extremely poorly, cook fairly well, have a wide assortment of hobbies you can share in, and embarrass myself frequently.

I do my best to leave any place I stay at in at least as good of condition as when I got there and I promise to do the same for anyone who lets me in to their home.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, France, Germany, Mexico, Peru, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Spain, Thailand, United Kingdom, Uruguay

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States