Well, I'm a 26 year old Chef who grew up in, and lived all over California. I love to eat (I know, I'm skinny, bet I can still out eat you,) I love to cook, I love to laugh, I love meeting new people, and I LOVE to travel. I've been around Europe a bit, Central America a little, and South America for not long enough. I plan on spending some real time in South America just as soon as I've seen the States first. I went to school for Architecture for a couple years, realized I hated it, dropped out and started a commercial painting company with my best friend, failed miserably, got a job washing dishes, worked my way up the ranks and never looked back. I'm compassionate, empathetic (to a fault,) fun, introspective, I love to learn, I live for new experiences, I would characterize myself as outdoorsy, I think there's nothing better than meeting people, I thoroughly enjoy having my perspectives enhanced or even completely shattered and rebuilt, I'm incredibly friendly, and I... Ummm... I'm not fantastic at these things, ask me if there's something you'd like to know.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I'm on an open-ended road trip across the U.S. and while I could stay with friends and hostels most places I go, I would really like to meet new people on this trip. Have some different experiences, make some new friends, see where the road takes me rather than go where I know I can go and do what I could do any time. Looking forward to maybe meeting you!

Interests

Cooking, eating, laughing, learning, exploring, laughing, cooking, eating, surfing, snowboarding, travelling, skipping, laughing, eating, reading, dancing, hiking, backpacking, laughing.

I love the act of creation, but I'm not worried about the destruction of said creation (which is probably one of the reasons cooking has had such a strong hold on me.) I haven't had a hobby that's stuck, or consumed me, in a long time, besides food of course, but that's because it seems like fully devoting yourself to one thing ends up closing the doors to other things. I love life and I plan on experiencing it to the fullest!

• architecture
• dancing
• dining
• cooking
• reading
• traveling
• socializing
• painting
• hiking
• backpacking
• camping
• surfing
• snowboarding
• tourism

Music, Movies, and Books

Oh these questions are so silly.

Music: everything except Britney Spears, freestyle Jazz, pop Country, and the other stuff that I don't like either. I recently discovered LP (who I have decided I will marry,) I have had a soft spot for Band of Skulls forever, The Stooges/Lust For Life (the entire album) are deeply ingrained in me, I would be remiss not to mention Mac Dre and Andre Nickitina who have a special place in my heart from high school (honorable mention for NWA as well,) The Devils Makes Three, Atmosphere, Brother Ali, Blackilicious, NiN, Sublime, etc. etc... So I guess I like rock, hip hop, and rap the best.

Books... Books... Let's start with the important ones, the ones that shaped me as a person: Go Dogs Go, The Cat in the Hat, Goodnight Moon, and of course The Jabberwocky. After that (in no particular order) : The Brief and Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao, The Game of Thrones series (it's fucking good,) Animal Farm, 1984, Farenheit 451, literally everything by Kurt Vonnegut, The Painted Bird, and plenty more I just can't remember on the spot. Oh, duh, Being There.

Movies: The Big Lebowski, Zoolander, Goodfellas, TMNT (1990), Being There, and others. Again I'm quite sure there are a lot more

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Hiked up to a glacier lake in Bolivia without a guide, camp stove, water, mule, etc... Cool story actually, I'll tell you if I meet you :)

Teach, Learn, Share

Yes please

What I Can Share with Hosts

I will cook for whoever takes me in, probably not something you would eat in my restaurant (because it takes hours to mis en place that stuff, and more ingredients than I'm generally willing to buy) but I promise it will be delicious :) I have some excellent stories to tell which don't need embellishment, but will probably get it anyway, and I would love to hear yours (I haven't met a single person who didn't have a terribly interesting story.)

Countries I’ve Visited

Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, England, France, Guatemala, Italy, Mexico, Peru