Hey! I live in Saint-Affrique (Midi-Pyrenees) and I work as an English Language Assistant in a high school here. I love music (playing listening and watching), playing guitar and fixing things (motorcycles). In the US I played in several bands, here's my main project: bigmessma.bandcamp.com. I'll be here in France until the end of April, maybe longer if I find another job?

I lived in Nantes two years ago, doing the same kind of work, but I still am not the best French speaker (I spoke too much English last time!) . And that's why I'm back, to work on my French, take advantage of all the beauty this country (and continent) has to offer, and eventually return back to the US to teach French.

My real passion is playing music, and I would love to pursue that to the fullest until I can't anymore. But teaching is my secondary love, and it tends to pay better : )

I am a big fan of hard work and I've had more jobs than I can count... or maybe I can count them here --- hot-dog vendor, hardware store clerk, guitar teacher, music store manager, spanish/english/french teacher, vendor manager (translation company), security guard, gas station attendant, construction worker, grill assembler, sandpaper factory laborer, waiter, flower delivery driver, inventory analyst (at a candy factory!), administrative assistant at a fancy American university, landscaper, mechanic--- I love learning new things, so why not try it all I guess.

PHILOSOPHY: Really make the most of every moment you have, because... you know.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I don't know too many people around here, but I'd love to explore more of France (and Europe) and make new friends at the same time.

Interests

Music, reading, old cars & motorcycles, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, science in general, carpentry, language learning, feminism, landscaping, nutrition, sustainability, fixing things, architecture.

• dogs
• architecture
• beauty
• womens rights
• motorcycles
• flowers
• reading
• cars
• music
• guitar
• teaching
• engineering
• science

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: Nirvana, Radiohead, Torche, Harvey Milk, Karp, Queens of the Stoneage, The Beatles, Fleet Foxes, Converge, Melt Banana, Burl Ives, Bill Monroe, First Aid Kit, The Wailin' Jennies, Hank Williams, John Lee Hooker, Skip James, Albert King, Jimi Hendrix, M.I.A., Led Zeppelin, The Davis Sisters, Slim Whitman, Kylesa, Baroness, The Bad Plus, The White Stripes, Maps & Atlases, Sam Cooke, Shellac, Rage Against The Machine

Books: anything by Kurt Vonnegut, Flannery O'Connor, Cormac McCarthy, Robert Sapolsky, Noam Chomsky

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I re-assembled a 1966 Triumph motorcycle from about a thousand pieces... although it took five years.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Stories, bourbon, music, Boston bands they haven't heard of, English instruction, someone to listen to their stories.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Canada, England, France, Germany, Lithuania, Netherlands

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, United States