ABOUT ME

I write fiction books, and teach creative writing in New York and New Jersey. I play guitar and sing and am interested in a broad range of art forms, including Hellfire Preaching and the Melbourne Shuffle.

PHILOSOPHY

There is nothing more interesting than human beings.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I couch-surfed in Korea during the summers of 2013 and 2014. These were great experiences. My time in Seoul, Gangneung, and Daejeon opened for me a great appreciation for the Korean language and for Korean history, both of which I study regularly. I attend language meetups in Manhattan every Sunday, and when I arrive in Seoul this May I look forward to doing more language and cultural exchange. I would like to meet people in the countryside as well as the city.

Thank you for considering me as s possible guest! I would like to help you in whatever way I can, be it working on a garden, painting a house, teaching you how to play guitar or sharing with you special tips on how to speak better English.

Interests

I love Korean people and the Korean language. Learning Korean is one of my favorite activities. I enjoy talking to strangers, visiting museums, and walking around in unfamiliar places. Because I am a writer, I spend quite a bit of time working on my books.

• arts
• writing
• books
• singing
• walking
• music
• guitar

Music, Movies, and Books

I admit that I like k-pop, including artists such as Sistar, AOA, Mamamoo, Sunmi, EXID and even Red Velvet. But I also like the older bands and singers such as Koyote, Baby VOX, Kim Jung Mi, Sung Si-Kyung, Lee Jung-Hee, and Kang San Eh.

Some of my favorite writers are Faulkner, Hemingway, Beckett, Celine, Dorothy Allison, Leon Rooke, James Purdy, Raymond Carver, Barry Hannah, Mark Richard, Lee Munyol, Larry Brown, Harry Crews, Flannery O'Connor, Joy Wiliams, Harold Brodkey, Paul Bowles, Eugene Marten and James Agee.

I like scary movies and smart movies and action-adventure movies. I saw a Korean movie called Time that I thought was great. I watched a few Korean dramas to help learn Korean. My favorites were Glass Mask, Queen of Ambition, The Snow Queen, May Queen, and The Innocent Man.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I climbed Thunder Mountain barefoot. This is a mountain in Juneau, Alaska, where I lived for three years. I lived in Mexico for two years as a child. Have traveled through Europe. Performed music in many bands. I shook Jimmy Carter's hand. I saw the pope in Rome.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach you a lot about English, as well as songwriting and guitar, how to write effective cover letters for jobs. I am good at Adobe Photoshop, and can show you how to manipulate photos to do whatever you want in them. I am serious about learning Korean, so every little bit of help is appreciated.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, France, Italy, Mexico, South Korea, Spain, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Italy, Mexico