Hello! I'm Matthew, but you can call me Matt (or think of a nickname!).

I'm from Chicago, and growing up, my family vacations were just short drives to Wisconsin, one state north of us. In that sense, my family wasn't too adventurous, so my travel opportunities since then have been a real surprise and a treat.

Though I love the touristy, camera-around-the-neck side of traveling, nothing beats getting to know locals and leaving behind my foreigner's perspective.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I'm obsessed with the idea that we're all the same, but we're also all different. No matter where you go in the world, you'll find people who eat, sleep, and talk with friends. In the most fundamental ways, we're alike. But on top of those similarities, we have countless differences: our habits, our beliefs, our dreams.

CS is a microcosm of our world: we all share a love for travel and meeting strangers, but each time we couchsurf or host, we see a new side of life we'd never imagined before. I'm on CS so I can keep discovering those shards.

Interests

- Philosophy (mainly moral & philosophy of mind), linguistics, and meditation
- Playing piano (ragtime & Debussy) and going record shopping
- Cooking (Italian, Chinese, Polish) and woodworking
- And some other stuff!

• cooking
• meditation
• shopping
• technology
• traveling
• woodworking
• piano
• buddhist
• history
• languages
• sociology

Music, Movies, and Books

Music:
- Radiohead, Tame Impala, Arcade Fire, Sigur Ros, Squarepusher, Four Tet, A Tribe Called Quest, Gorillaz

Movies:
- Anything from Stanley Kubrick or Wes Anderson. Actually, anything from Spike Jonze or Paul Thomas Anderson, too :)

Books:
- The Little Prince, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Slaughterhouse-Five, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Well, not necessarily amazing in a positive sense...but when I visited Rome with my parents, we went to Vatican City and all got separated from one another. After a few dramatic hours of searching, we finally found each other, and I learned a huge lesson about how to prepare better when traveling.

The full story is a lot more exciting, I promise!

Teach, Learn, Share

I could teach you how to cook, the basics of playing the piano, and some interesting tidbits from various languages. Oh, and I can also teach you how to spot a four-leaf clover!

I'd love to learn what you're all about and your interests, whatever they may be.

And of course, I'd love to share and hear stories :)

What I Can Share with Hosts

- I would be thrilled to cook for you (or, even better, with you)!
- We could talk about foreign languages & world history or sociology. I also know a lot about Judaism, and I'm learning more about Buddhism and eastern philosophy.
- Rumor has it that I can also provide tech support & advice :)

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Canada, China, England, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Poland, Uruguay

Countries I’ve Lived In

Argentina, China, United States