CURRENT MISSION

To do what I love and be kind... I am touring Europe for the next year as a street performer and freelance guitarist. On the way I want to make good friends, play with other musicians, and learn, see and do as much as I can

ABOUT ME

For me, life is a wonderful, complicated, sometimes tragic, sometimes perfect, but always fascinating game. This outlook has led me through a fun and fulfilling life so far. I have done stage acting, acrobatics, built robots, hiked hundreds of miles, worked my way through high school, graduated from a classical music conservatory, started a volunteer music mentorship program for underprivileged kids, and am now touring through Europe as a street performer and freelance musician.
I make friends easily and love conversation. I also enjoy helping out, fixing things and I clean up after myself. I am very flexible (mentally not physically), and don't need things to be a certain way for me to be happy.
I would be more than happy to play guitar for you, and if you play yourself, I would love to jam. If you are interested in guitar lessons, whether you are a serious shredder, a complete beginner or somewhere in between, I am a very experienced guitar teacher and would enjoy helping you hone your skills or teaching you your first song.
If you would like to check out my Europe blog go to Justinhouchin.com. From there you can click the "Buy My Album" tab and you can listen to my first album. No need to buy it though, because if I stay with you, you can have a free CD!

PHILOSOPHY

I don't let my happiness depend on things outside of myself. I am happy first, then the rest unfolds naturally.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I just joined Couching and have only stayed with one couch surfer so far, this experience was so great that I might be hooked for life. I have dual US/German citizenship and will likely settle in Berlin for a few months, where I would love to be a host. I will then head back to Sunland, CA and will be the best host I can.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I stayed in Berlin with a really nice girl named Myra. She is a composer and plays guitar, oud and cavaquinho, a small Brazilian Ukulele-like instrument. We rehearsed a couple of songs and then walked to some bars, asked if we could play our music and if yes, we performed and the people gave us a little something.
The next night I got to listen to a Turkish music jam and improvised a couple of songs with them. Good times!

Interests

Music! Learning it, performing it, writing it, teaching it, jamming.
People! Meeting them, talking to them, learning from them, drinking with them.
Nature! Hiking, swimming, biking, climbing, mountains, forests, deserts, oceans.

• animals
• fish
• writing
• singing
• acting
• drinking
• blogging
• music
• classical music
• jazz
• guitar
• piano
• cycling
• fishing
• hiking
• snorkeling
• rock climbing
• swimming
• biology
• teaching
• freelancing
• volunteering
• beaches
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: I like almost all types of music but especially, classical, jazz, folk, bluegrass, funk and rock

Books: Too much to list, but off the top of my head:
I Just finished Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac; perfect reading for a man on the road. Anything by Alan Watts, Sci-Fi novels...

Movies: I watched Goodby Lennon a few nights ago and loved it, Amelie is damn good, I grew up on Star Wars, and as a tradition I watch the Lord of the Rings, and Zoolander once a year.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I did a three week marine biology class in the small town of Bahia De Los Angeles, Mexico. Every day we slept on the beach, woke up at 5:00am, went snorkeling, napped, then did lecture for a few hours. This is the best I've felt in my life.
One lucky day, we encountered one of my favorite animals in the whole world, a whale shark. I actually got to swim with this 30-foot-long, plankton-chugging, masterpiece of an animal for an hour. At one point my friends accidentally scared the shark in my direction. It came at me with an open mouth and I thought I'd be swallowed, but she turned quickly, (well as quickly as a 35ft. fish can turn) and launched my body nearly out of the water with her tail fin.
This is as good as it gets!

Teach, Learn, Share

From my years spent learning, practicing and performing music, my time spent in music school, and my music teaching experience I have a lot to offer on the subject, I not only enjoy teaching all levels of guitar, but also love to teach music fundamentals like rhythm and singing, music theory, beginning piano, song writing, and helping people to understand musical genres such as classical jazz, deepening their appreciation.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Austria, Germany, Mexico

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States