ABOUT ME

I've been mostly based in Vietnam for the past several years, working as an English teacher. However, my job allows me quite a lot of flexibility and I've been fortunate enough to travel pretty widely. Besides traveling my other main hobby is books -- hence the large number of books listed below.

PHILOSOPHY

I studied philosophy in college, so I guess it would make sense for me to have some kind of personal philosophy, but I'm not sure I do. Maybe I should just call myself a doubter. However, I can say that travel has been a huge part of shaping my life and it would be a pleasure to help fellow travelers have a great time in my city.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Meeting people is pretty much the main reason to travel, in my opinion. CS is a great facilitator for that.

Interests

• literature
• theater
• dining
• traveling
• music

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: Beirut, Chris Thile, The Smiths, Morrissey, Smashing Pumpkins, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Stromae, Colin Hay, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Dengue Fever. I also really love a lot of classical music -- Bach, Mendelssohn, Dvorak, Gershwin, Barber.

Books:

Some notable fiction: Under the Volcano, The Stranger, A Separate Peace, Captain Corelli's Mandolin, The Sorrow of War, The Short-Timers, Like a Diamond in the Sky, A Ballroom for Ghost Dancing, To the End of the Land, The Dancer Upstairs, The Sportswriter, The Plot Against America, The Ice Storm, Lightning on the Sun, Highways to a War, The Passenger, Stella Maris, A Grain of Wheat, Good Morning Comrades, Butterfly Burning, Half of a Yellow Sun, When Rain Clouds Gather, The Inscrutable Americans, Herzog, Seize the Day

Non-fiction: River of Time, Living Poor, The Saddest Pleasure, Where the Indus is Young, The Ukimwi Road, West with the Night, Venture to the Interior, A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush, Bitter Lemons of Cyprus, In Patagonia, Riding the Iron Rooster, Black Virgin Mountain, Another Day of Life, Things to Make and Do in the Fourth Dimension, Meditations of Marcus Aurelius

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Slept in a yurt in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan

Teach, Learn, Share

I've played the violin for nearly twenty years and I've also worked as a professional musician in the past.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I love to talk about just about everything, but especially books, music, history, international politics, science, etc.

I also love to play word games (Scrabble, etc.)

I am pretty close to being an expert on Cambodia, as I lived there for 3 years and can speak the language. If you want to know anything about Cambodia or learn some Khmer, let me know!

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Bangladesh, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Canada, China, Croatia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Greece, India, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Malawi, Malaysia, Montenegro, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Cambodia, Italy, Kenya, Thailand, United States, Viet Nam