CURRENT MISSION

To experience as much of this varied world as possible. Up until now I've lead a quiet suburban life in the USA. I want to go out and go off the beaten path, meeting fascinating people and learning about their different view of the world along the way!

ABOUT ME

History is my passion. From a young age I tried to learn as much of it as possible. At the moment I'm hoping that some day I can either get a PHD in European History and teach at a university or get a masters of education and teach history at a high school level.

My second love is music and theater. While I haven't been able to see as much theater in recent years, I currently try and see live music as much as possible. Concerts are the perfect way to blow off steam and I think its a really great way to see the actual talent of a band, when they have to rely on spontaneous collaboration to create an amazing sound. I generally try to see at least 10 concerts a year and will often see the same act multiple times. The msot recent show that I went to was Vampire Weekend at the Astra Kulturhaus and it was pretty fantastic.

My ideal night is sitting down with a good group of people, drinking a couple of beers, and having good conversation about the news, history, and life.

PHILOSOPHY

I view almost everything through the lens of history. All the events around us have more than one meaning for why they happened. There's always a different narrative that can explain events.
Everyone in the world is extremely different, and that's why its so fantastic.
Each new day is a new adventure. There's so many different things to see and do. I'm constantly trying to find something new and cool to do, going off the beaten path.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I used couchsurfing when I went to Istanbul a few years ago and am hoping to utilize it again for future travels. Also, once I move in September I will consider hosting people at my new place.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Did it in Istanbul and it made the trip 100 times cooler.

Interests

European History, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, German Language studies, American History, Historiography, Indie Music, Good Books, Old Films, New Films, hiking, going for a good run/jog, finding amazing food to eat, reading snobby periodicals and journals like The New Yorker, drinking good beer or Wine or Bourbon, discovering new cities and going on adventures in them, seeing as many concerts as possible, theater, and of course, riding my bike!

• books
• theater
• concerts
• education
• dining
• wine
• beer
• running
• drinking
• news
• movies
• reading
• music
• live music
• cycling
• hiking
• teaching
• history

Music, Movies, and Books

Here's a list in no particular order of bands that I really like (I'm always looking for new recommendations!):
Phish, Wilco, The Band, Bob Dylan, Fleet Foxes, Rural Alberta Advantage, Sharon Jones & the Dap-kings, Okkervil River, Titus Andronicus, Bruce Springsteen, Ton Steine Scherben, Serge Gainsbourg, Manu Chao, Joe Dassin, Burt Bacharach songs (guilty pleasure), Ben Folds, Squeeze, Arcade Fire, New Pornographers, Belle & Sebastian, Nas, Big L, Bon Iver, Broken Bells, Blitzen Trapper, Bright Eyes, Charles Mingus, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Grant Green, Dawes, The Flaming Lips, Girls, The Grateful Dead, Modest Mouse, The Morning Benders, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The National, Neutral Milk Hotel, Spoon, Sufjan Stevens, and so many more (sorry for the exhaustive list)!

I also really love seeing good movies, here's a list of some of my favorites:
The Sting, Lawrence of Arabia, The Poducers, Blazing Saddles, Annie Hall, Sleeper, Love & Death, The Apartment, The Jungle Book, Black Dynamite, I Am Trying To Break Your Heart, Das Leben der Anderen, Die Untergang, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Judgment at Nuremberg, High Noon, Cross of Iron, Superbad, Knocked Up, and lots more.

Here's a quick smattering of favorite books:
Postwar by Tony Judt (my personal bible for Contemporary European History), White Noise and Libra by Don Delilo, Dubliners by James Joyce, Death of a Salesmen and the Crucible by Arthur Miller (I count plays I have read in classes under "books), Macbeth by Shakespeare, Catch 22 by Joseph Heller, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon, Portnoy's Complaint and American Pastoral and Goodbye Columbus by Phillip Roth, Der Mauerspringer by Peter Schneider, Berlin Stories by Christopher Isherwood, and The Things They Carried by Thomas O'brien. oh, and A Confederacy of Dunces.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

In 2011 I spent a week in Paris visiting my old roommate from back in the States who was studying abroad there. We went out one night to a small Sangria bar near the Pantheon, planning to meet up with two of his friends. The bar was packed and we tried as hard as possible to hold a table for four until they showed up. We ended up having to turn over part of the table to a group of Americans and Belgians.
We started talking with them and soon found out that the Americans were members of the band The Airborne Toxic Event, which we had read a lot about a year ago. They were really cool and soon we were talking with their manager who said that one of his other bands was in town and would soon be at the bar.
This band happened to be The Bravery, who were huge a few years ago in the United States. We spent the rest of the night hanging out with the guys from the Bravery. My roommate even recommended a good second bar for us to go to.
For one night, I was living the Rock & Roll lifestyle. Going bar hopping with a famous band in Paris. So random and so damn awesome!

Teach, Learn, Share

Things I know a lot about:
American History, The Simpsons, Holocaust Studies, news and current events, Indie Music a bit of Contemporary Music History, and most importantly European History, Germany, Austria, the USA...

Countries I’ve Visited

Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Turkey, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Austria, Germany, United States