Touring the world (seeing new places, new things, new cultures) is fun. But being a tourist is terrible. I don't want to visit the Eiffel Tower just so I can fit in with all my other friends who have visited the Eiffel Tower. Instead, I want to experience other cultures and see what it's *really* like to live somewhere else. Granted, you can't know what a place is like in only a week, but if you're only going to spend a few days in the US, I'd tell you to eat at Phil's Ice House in Austin, Texas instead of going to Times Square in New York. Which is why I want to travel with Couchsurfing--you get to really see the culture, and get the insider's view on the city, not what some journalist decided was the "hot-spot" to see.

I'm into the indie-folk scene, but I've also been getting into more electronica and some of the old-school underground rap scene. A random assortment of artists to mention: Alt-J, Bon Iver, Beirut, Atmosphere, Joshua James. I'm into "mind-bending" movies. Like Memento, Fight Club, 1984, The Pervert's Guide to Ideology. I also like thought-provoking movies as well, like Short Term 12, Le scaphandre et le papillon, Gone Girl. Good Wes Anderson films are also good. I've read some good books in the past: East of Eden, Poisonwood Bible, Catch 22. I'd like to read more but school has kept me busy.