Hi! I'm Max.

Traveling, meeting and connecting with strangers, being of my comfort zone, going on crazy adventures, and helping others are all things that bring me happiness, more than any material item could. Some of my more specific interests are being outdoors, I love hiking, kayaking, running, skiing, and just being in nature. I also love to cook, play the harmonica, and make art.

I took my first solo backpacking trip right after graduating high school, spending a month in California working at a homeless kitchen and two months in Costa Rica volunteering at a surf camp and then hitchhiking around the country.

I recently spent three months backpacking through Africa, taking public transportation from Cape Town to Nairobi, Kenya through five countries.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

As much as I enjoy staying in hostels I would love to have more authentic experiences while backpacking and learn more about the cultures and daily lives of the people who actually live where I am passing through. I also love the idea of exchanging stories and experiences rather than money :)

Interests

• cooking
• reading
• origami
• magic
• hiking
• sports
• science
• hitchhiking
• travel
• nature
• adventure
• stargazing
• computers

Music, Movies, and Books

I can enjoy almost every genre of movie/TV show but I do love science fiction, especially Star Trek The Next Generation and Interstellar. My all-time favorite movie is The Prestige by Christopher Nolan (it starts slow but give it time!). Some other movies I've really enjoyed are Interstellar, Get Out, The Terminator, Yesterday, and Hereditary among many others...

As for books I'm a huge fan of Arthur C. Clarke, some of my favorite of his are The Sands of Mars, Childhood's End, and Rendezvous with Rama. I also loved Station Eleven, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and Cosm.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Coded a website that lets you listen to the individual elements on the periodic table (if lattices themselves could make audible noise).

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach you:
How to solve a rubik's cube
How to make a smash burger
How to make really good taiwanese dumplings

I can share with you:
Card tricks
Card games
Terrible jokes

I would love to learn:
Your story
Your culture
Your favorite recipe

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Austria, Canada, Costa Rica, Croatia, Denmark, El Salvador, England, France, Germany, Guatemala, Iceland, Italy, Kenya, Macedonia, Montenegro, Morocco, Namibia, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Tanzania, Zambia

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States