CURRENT MISSION

to have a great conversation, preferably in French or English!

ABOUT ME

Meet me and of course we'll talk about me - but that's a pretty boring conversation, unless you'll share all about yourself, as well!

Basics:
I'm a 6'6" friendly Canadian-born and Chicago-raised student at the University of Georgia studying International Affairs, French and philosophy.

etc...:
I'll be honest and just say it: I'm a fairly awkward guy at first, but I love to laugh and talk over food, so as long as we meet over a meal, the introductions should go well. My mind is usually in the clouds, but I get along all right despite that. I love books and music, and can appreciate movies, and most of all the discussions that usually follow them. I'm not the best of listeners, but I'm trying to get better and would appreciate any opportunities to practice. :-D The rest I hope comes out in the course of a good conversation.

PHILOSOPHY

Hmmm...be real! No, seriously...in an admonition to myself as much as to anyone else, belief must become lifestyle and words become action if the end result is anything more than hypocrisy.

My own beliefs are unabashedly Christian, but many of my friends' are not, and I love them none the less for that! Hopefully, both on my end and yours, we won't let pride, moralism, bias, prejudice, ignorance or insensitivity get in the way of a good conversation, a good time, and, hopefully, eventually, one of those good friendships!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Right now I am both a traveling and a CouchSurfing beginner, so I am seeking to use CSing as a way to meet exciting and interesting people and make some friends who can broaden my perspective on different places and cultures and who can help my understanding of travel in general. I have so much to learn, and so little to give in return, but I hope to one day, in the future, hopefully, be a helpful host who has been world traveler. :-D

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

None yet, but I can't wait!

Interests

Anything and everything that can lead me to something Bigger than myself; specifically, I like reading, writing, listening, talking, listening to and playing music, enjoying good films, hiking, biking, adventuring, playing sports, and pretty much anything else done with good company. I love learning about new people and places and different ways of life, and I love food - especially Italian, but all sorts, really...I'll try anything once!

• writing
• books
• dining
• movies
• reading
• traveling
• music
• cycling
• hiking
• camping
• sports
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies -- action, comedy, fantasy - the Bourne Trilogy, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Mr. Bean, Rush Hour, the Prestige...
Music - everything from classical to rap -- seriously, anything that "expresses that which cannot be put into words and cannot be silent" (Hugo) I will likely enjoy.
Books - don't get me started-- Lewis, Tolkien, Dostoevsky, Dumas, Chesterton, Hugo, Conan Doyle, Pyle, Bradbury, Shakespeare, Crichton...if I have the time for it I will read it, in all likelihood (although this has sadly decreased in truthfulness as I get sucked ever deeper into the whirlpool that is the Internet). All I would say is that, in general, books, like cheese, are finer with age; I mean this both to say I appreciate a classic more than a recent NYT Bestseller and I appreciate books more as I return to them later in life.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

One of the most incredible experiences I have had was camping close to Aviemore, Scotland, in the wilderness beside Loch an Eilean, a windy lake with a fort embedded in its center isle. My two friends and I cooked a dinner of beans right by the loch underneath the mid-evening sun and enjoyed a double rainbow that arched over the island in front of a blue and golden sky, then returned to our improvised tarpaulin-tent, set up beneath some massive trees and sheltered from the whistling wind by a series of foothills. That is one trip I can never forget.

The close second to that experience was rafting down the Rio Pacuare in Costa Rica. When able to look up from the swirling foam and enjoy the scenery around me, my suburbanite mind was simply dumbfounded by how much green there was on the earth, rising all around me along the sides of the mountains and waterfalls that surrounded the river. When the rapids finally calmed down, I dove off the side of the raft and floated downstream on my back, just soaking in the blue sky and green foliage that encased that moment, a second, absolutely unforgettable one that I am grateful to have been able to have enjoyed.

Teach, Learn, Share

"This life's dim windows of the soul,
Distort the heavens from pole to pole,
And cause us to believe a lie,
When we see with, not through, the eye."
-William Blake

Countries I’ve Visited

Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Turkey, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, United States

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