I grew up in a smallish Texas town and still have a little of that in me. Went to school a couple of times and earned some degrees. Got married. Started working in local government with the idea that I could be of service to others...then, my wife and I decided to give all that up and join the Peace Corps. We wanted to be of service in a more direct way. Now, we're doing some traveling and after are hoping to make friends along the way.

We're both pretty laidback people. The kind of folks that enjoy a few drinks but aren't looking to rage. We are pretty adventurous, like the meeting new people and learning about their lives and cultures. We're not afraid of physical activity and like to hike, backpack and generally stay active.

I'm an amateur photographer, and our camera is usually close at hand.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I'll bet you that most people put something about meeting new people and experiencing culture through the eyes of a local in this box. I guess I'm really not that different, I'm interested in couchsurfing for the same reasons...also if we're being honest I don't have much money.

Interests

• arts
• culture
• performing arts
• architecture
• street art
• photography
• crafts
• boating
• traveling
• dumpster diving
• painting
• woodworking
• hiking
• kayaking
• scuba diving
• snorkeling
• sailing
• art history
• history
• languages
• public administration
• public policy
• language exchange
• adventure travel
• historic sites
• food
• nature
• traditional food
• adventure
• cultures
• trekking
• learning languages
• different cultures
• ancient history
• new cultures
• trains
• landscape architecture
• traditions
• boats
• local history
• foreign languages
• sustainable development
• world history
• ngo
• unesco
• arts and crafts
• traditional dancing
• traditional music
• jungle trekking
• traditional dance

Music, Movies, and Books

I'm pretty wide open on my movie/music/book tastes but if you have to pick...

Favorite music - Greenday, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Offspring, Fallout Boy, Radiohead, Towns Van Zandt, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Robert Earl Keen, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel,

Favorite Movies - Star Wars original Trilogy, Blade Runner, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Young Frankenstein, A Prairie Home Companion, Apocalypse Now, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Empire Records, Event Horizon, Fear and Loathing in Las Veges, Iron Sky, Noises Off, O Brother Where Art Thou, Scott Pilgrim vs the World, Snatch, The Big Lebowski, The Pianist, The Shining, Trainspotting, The Fifth Element

Favorite Books - Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien, Going Postal by Terry Pratchet, The Forever War by Joe Haldeman, Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny, Ubik by Phillip K. Dick, Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson, The Dispossessed by Ursula Le Guin,
Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin, Hyperion by Dan Simmons, Solaris by Lem Stanislaw, The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut, A Canticle for Walter M. Leibowitz by Miller, Why Nations Fail by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson, Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman, Foundation Series by Isaac Asimov, On the Road by Jack Kerouac, The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Joined the American Peace Corps and served as a community economic development volunteer in the remote island of Atauro for two years.

Teach, Learn, Share

I'm always up to talk about photography, love learning about anything really but especially about culture and history and share stories of where we have all been and where we plan on going.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I'd love to take about photography, and share stories of our time in the Peace Corps.

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Georgia, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, Montenegro, Serbia, Singapore, Slovenia, Switzerland, Thailand, Timor-Leste (East Timor), Turkey, United States, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, Timor-Leste (East Timor), United States