Hi! My name is Matt, and I am a California native. I grew up in the Los Angeles area and moved up to the San Francisco Bay Area to attend UC Berkeley. I majored in political science with an emphasis on international relations. During my time at Berkeley, I joined an organization focused on international affairs and caught the travel bug.

I studied abroad in London during my third year of university and absolutely loved it. This was the first time I had traveled alone outside of the US, and the experience was eye-opening and life-changing.

I currently live in Oakland, California (just across the bay from San Francisco), but I am soon relocating to Los Angeles to attend graduate school at UCLA. I will be traveling to Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand the last two weeks of May. Then, I will be in Europe by way of Sweden for two weeks in the middle of July.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

When I traveled Europe while I was in college, I stayed in hostels and relied on books and the internet to guide my travels. But now I want a more authentic travel experience and to know what more local people do in their cities and towns. I enjoy meeting new people and sharing travel stories, so I think Couchsurfing is a wonderful way to facilitate all of these things.

Interests

I am extremely interested in urban/city planning, specifically transportation planning. I will be starting a Master's program in September, so I am more than eager to talk about this subject.

I am a lover of coffee, beer, and many different types of cuisine. I enjoy going to new cafes, restaurants and bars, but I also have my usual spots. I also love going to museums and finding new hiking paths in the area.

• books
• beer
• coffee
• traveling
• hiking
• international relations
• political science
• science
• tourism

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I was an extra in a movie starring Will Ferrell. You can ask me which one, but I won't reveal it on here :-)

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Spain, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

United Kingdom, United States