CURRENT MISSION

To get my PhD in (Environmental?) Sociology

ABOUT ME

I grew up on a farm with liberal parents and I think it shows. I have a strong, passionate drive to achieve my goals. After a brief stint at Boston University, I returned home and enrolled at the University of Kansas in Lawrence where I graduated with my degree in sociology. I will be attending graduate school at Brown University. I have strong leftist leanings and a thorough disdain for American politics. My philosophy lies along the lines of Marx and Nietzsche.

I am an avid hiker, traveler, explorer, learner, and reader. I hope to broaden all of these categories and start some new ones.

PHILOSOPHY

I live my life to experience what this world has to offer and revel in the glory of it all. My life's mission is to make a meaningful contribution to the field of economic, political, or environmental sociology and thereby help develop a sorely needed alternative to capitalism.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I surf pretty much exclusively and engage fully with my hosts. I love couchsurfing because of the opportunity it affords to really get to know a place. I often let my hosts take the reigns and lead me in the right direction. I have yet to be steered wrong.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I surfed a great deal in Western Europe during the Summer/Fall of 2012. I met some amazing people and had the time of my life on a shoestring budget. One of my favorite couches was in Grenoble, France. We drove up into the French Alps and took a tram several hundred meters up to a glacier, ate amazing food, and I also went on a wonderful solo hike. I really wish I could go back and see my friends and meet new ones. Trips like this are what couchsurfing is all about!

Interests

Science, Rationality, Politics, Sociology, hiking, dancing, and exploring. Also, coffee and gourmet food.

• dancing
• dining
• coffee
• running
• politics
• hiking
• science
• sociology

Music, Movies, and Books

I'm not too much of a fiction reader, but "Things Fall Apart" has a special place in my mind. In The Garden of Beasts is a recent read that really gripped me, not to mention Nietzsche's various works and Hesse's Siddhartha.

I enjoy non-fiction books about economics, science, and social issues.

My taste in movies varies wildly from Judd Apatow flicks to Quentin Tarantino's films. I also love foreign language films and the perspective they give on other cultures.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Summiting a 13,000 foot mountain and then a 14er the next day in Colorado. Nothing compares to that feeling of triumph.

Also, running naked into the northern Pacific. Brrr!

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach some basics of Marxism and/or sociology. I can explain why capitalism is a one-way road to ecological collapse. I'm also a proponent for the renewal of rural spaces based peasant farming philosophy.

I would love to learn more about hiking and wilderness skills!

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Colombia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States

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