The first iteration of my travel bug manifested in the college semester I spent abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina. After graduating, I knew I didn't want to settle for a normal life in the U.S. just quite yet. So, I headed off for a two year stint teaching English in South Korea! It was a huge adventure full of wonders, victories, defeats, and growth.

Upon returning to the U.S. this spring, I cast aside all my excuses and launched a career in my true love - music. I spent the summer in Ocean City, Maryland, making most of my money from busking on the boardwalk there. It was a phenomenal opportunity to share music in spontaneity and hone my craft. I also wrote a blog about the experience!

I wish to use my music as a tool to connect people through joy and brotherhood. In addition to writing my own songs, I've learned over 100 covers so that no matter who I meet, I can play something they know :) Here's a little video showing a few of my covers -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Srsv36hdmeE

Now, I'm keeping the music strong and looking for the next place I may move! I just got my couchsurfing profile tuned up, so I'm looking forward to making the most of it.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I believe that happiness is humanity's natural state, but in the modern world we have allowed so many extraneous things to cloud our minds. For me, travel and music snap me back to my natural state of consciousness, so I love to find others who experience life the same way!

Right now, I'm planning a music road trip around some cities on the east coast, and looking for places to stay along the way!

Interests

• writing
• beer
• running
• reading
• traveling
• music
• guitar
• piano
• cycling
• hiking
• languages
• beaches
• mindfulness

Music, Movies, and Books

Music - Mainstream stuff - Foo Fighters, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Coldplay, Rival Sons, Oasis, Hozier, Arctic Monkeys, Twenty One Pilots, James Blake, Foals, Dawes, Thrice, Death Cab for Cutie

Indie Stuff - Covet, A Great Big Pile of Leaves, The Dear Hunter, Hodera, Blind Pilot, Brand New, Vasudeva

Books - In the past I read a lot of fiction and fantasy, these days I'm gravitating more towards nonfiction and inspirational content.

Slaughterhouse 5, The Great Gatsby, The Mistborn Trilogy, Become What You Are (Alan Watts), The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck (Mark Manson), Start (Jon Acuff), Thinking Fast and Slow (Daniel Kahneman), Kafka on the Shore (Haruki Mirakami)

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

My heart for teaching, learning, and traveling grew more than I thought possible through my two years teaching English in South Korea. On some days, I had to guide a group of 5 year olds with zero English ability through 40-minute lessons. On others, I was having advanced debates with middle school students.

While I was in Asia, I had the privilege of visiting many other additional countries. I climbed to ancient mountain temples in Japan, washed elephants in Thailand, and beheld the sunrise at Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

Teach, Learn, Share

Language is one of my top interests, right behind music. I speak Spanish pretty well and I'm always happy to freshen that up or help others practice. I can also hold a basic conversation in Korean! I could show you how to write some words in Korean :) It's not like Chinese or Japanese, with thousands of characters. Korean's writing system is made up of just distinct letters that stack on top of each other.

If you play guitar, we can jam! With many of the cover songs I play, I break them down into simple chords, so I could share my adaptations.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I am an accomplished musician and if a piano is available I'll happily provide entertainment! I'm also likely to have my guitar with me, and I know over 100 cover songs that I could share.

I'm happy to share tales of living and teaching in South Korea, and my travels around other countries in Asia.

I am warm and friendly and love to spend time getting to know and connecting with people.

I am polite, clean, and appreciative of anything a host would offer!

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Cambodia, Dominican Republic, Hong Kong, Japan, Panama, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Uruguay, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Argentina, South Korea, United States