Hello Couchsurfers! I'm hanging out in Portland for a month and I'd love to explore the city and make some new friends :)

Here's a few bits of information about yours truly: In a theoretical fight or flight scenario, I would probably be more inclined to flight. I'm a professional chef and I absolutely love cooking. I'm at my best when my dishes aren't planned and stem from a lack of obvious ingredients or a need to eat a particular item. I do my best thinking at 3 in the morning.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Whether it's just a 5 minute conversation over coffee or an extended stay, I've always enjoyed my experiences hosting and surfing. Translated: y'all give me faith in humanity!

Interests

cooking, seeing live music, drawing, hiking, horse-back riding, reading, painting, playing violin

• theater
• cooking
• beer
• coffee
• baking
• flying
• reading
• music
• equestrian
• hiking
• camping
• surfing
• rock climbing

Music, Movies, and Books

Beach House, Alexander, Kendrick Lamar, The Beatles, Outkast, Andrew Bird, Django Reinhart, Louis Prima, The Tallest Man on Earth, The Shins, Cat Stevens

Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail, Before the Rain, Le Ballon Rouge, Jules y Jim, 10 Things I Hate About You, Atonement

100 Years of Solitude, Chronicle of a Death Foretold, A Thousand Splendid Suns, Le Petit Prince, Mountains Beyond Mountains, Don Quixote, Three Men in a Boat

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I went on a safari in Botswana and Zimbabwe when I was 10. The trip started off with my passport being stolen from the flight attendant after flying alone for 15 hours from NYC to Joburg as a minor. Then we hit a donkey on the drive from Joburg to Gaborone, which destroyed our big bad-ass safari grade Land Rover (I always tell people that we "exploded" the donkey, because my Uncle was driving so fast that none of the resulting carnage resembled anything close to a donkey). Over the next four weeks I got to go horseback-rising in the bush, visit HIV/AIDs patients with my Aunt who worked for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and watch Johnny English in a totally empty theater.

Once the Land Rover got fixed, we drove north from Gaborone to Victoria Falls over the course of a week. We slept in a tent on top of the truck, which is a good thing because our camp got attacked by hyenas one night. The trip was perfectly chaotic to say the least, but it will remain one of my fondest memories and one of the most influential moments of my life. All I can say is that if you ever have a chance to go to Botswana, don't pass up the offer.

Teach, Learn, Share

Any food that is in my kitchen, theories about human evolution, as many American English idioms as you can handle

What I Can Share with Hosts

A beer, a coffee and some great conversation

Countries I’ve Visited

Botswana, Canada, Denmark, France, Honduras, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Monaco, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, Vatican City State, Zimbabwe

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, United States