CURRENT MISSION

backpacking Europe from March 8th to May 4th

ABOUT ME

I'm from a provincial town in the small state of Vermont in the Northeast of the United States. I was born in Burlington, Vermont and grew up in the surrounding area for my entire life. Growing up in Vermont was a wonderful experience for me because of the rural environment and the beautiful nature we have!

I come from a Swiss family (my Father's side being 100%) and my grandparents who are Swiss immigrants still own a house in Switzerland. This has benefited me greatly because I have had the opportunity to go to Switzerland over seven times since I was a little boy. Since then I have always seen myself as a World Traveler and by the time I reached my teenage years I continued to keep travel at the forefront of my plans.

When I was 14 I made a pact with my best friend Andrew, we decided that we would save money for the next 3 years so that after he graduated highschool and I finished up my Junior year (being a year younger then him) we could backpack Europe for more then a month using our savings! Well... the three years past and we managed to work dilligently and save enough money to backpack Europe and it turned out to be the "Best Time and Best Experience" of my life. Since then i've had travel fever and I plan on leaving in February of 2011 for a 6-12 month world travel trip starting in Europe!

Besides my background of my travels what could I tell you about myself... hmm well i'm a Libra first and foremost, i'm extremely charismatic, I have a very positive view on life and all things that go with it. I can connect with anyone no matter who it is and it something that I love doing, one of my favorite things is just having a good conversation with someone who has something interesting to bring to the table! I am always willing to offer advice and at the same time willing to receive. I feel that life is very short so we must savor the flavor and enjoy every moment that we have so that is my main inspiration for travel! There is so much to see in this world and so many people to meet and i'm 100% ready to dive in! I am a U.S and Swiss Citizen and will be traveling with Passports from both Nations!

So what am I up to now? Before my trip, you ask? Well i'm working in Burlington at the Onion River Co-Op as a Meat & Seafood Clerk. I love my job and the people I work with and i'm happy i'm enjoying the work i'm doing to save the money I need for my travels. I plan on departing in mid February to early March-ish and my first destination is Frankfurt, Germany to visit my cousin!

PHILOSOPHY

"Character Speaks for Itself"

this is my own quote, I created this because I feel if you respect and treat others the way they want to be treated then you in turn will have a great response and your character will speak for itself :)

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Up to now I have never had a Couch-Surfing experience. I signed up on this Website over two years ago before my backpacking trip of Europe in 2008. At the time I was 3 years younger and was in a pack of 3 so most of my requests for places to Surf were either requested or ignored which is not surprising to me at all. In all honesty I would not want to house 3 young backpackers either! My upcoming travels will be a solo endeavor though and I have a strong feeling I will be utilizing Couch Surfing alot. If your reading this and considering letting me "Surf" and or "Snooze" i'm greatly appreciative. If you want to know more about me feel free to send me a personal message, or even look me up on Facebook to get a better idea of who I am! Looking forward to meeting whomever may be reading this!

Interests

I love Life, Family, Music, Art, Friends, Traveling, Meeting New People, Trying New Things, New Foods, Exploring things, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (have trained for 3 years), Muay Thai, Crossfit (my brother owns a Crossfit gym), Reading, Soaking up the Sun, Learning new Languages, Swimming Holes & Cliff Diving (my favorite part of summer!)

• fish
• arts
• environment
• seafood
• crossfit
• reading
• traveling
• music
• cycling
• fishing
• backpacking
• surfing
• scuba diving
• swimming
• jiu jitsu
• languages

Music, Movies, and Books

(So many different Movies, Musicians and Books I love so i'll just list a few)

Movies:

"As Good As It Gets"
"The Namesake"
"The Thomas Crown Affair"
"Catch Me If You Can"

Music:

Led Zeppelin (my all time favorite band, I know all there is to know)
Curren$y
Wiz Khalifa
Tribe Called Quest
Nujabes
Nas
The Doors

Books:

"Siddhartha" Herman Hesse
"The Four Hour Work Week" Timothy Ferriss - (read this!!!)
"Vagabonding" Rolf Potts

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

-Just recently acquired my Swiss Passport! I now have dual-citizenship as a Swiss/American! Trying to get a job at a hostel for a workstay!

-Backpacked Europe with two of my close friends when I was 17 years old, no parents, no supervision just us and the open lands!

-Biked "Porcupine Rim" when I was 12 years old, this is a 5 mile long treacherous downhill Mountain Biking trail that at one point goes along a 800+ foot drop on a ledge with about 6-8 feet of space.

-Won the Vermont state Grappling Championship 2 years in a row when I was under 18 years old! (Heres a video at the 2008 Vermont Grappling Championship when I weighed 135 lbs and my opponent was 220lbs, the submission was the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu "Triangle")
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uphVXbMUqGg

Teach, Learn, Share

I could teach Brazilian Jiu Jitsu techniques to someone if they were interested in learning. I could teach someone how to Skin a Fish. I could teach how to do a Muscle Up on a pull up bar or gymnastic rings :)
In reality I could teach you a lot of things just like you could teach me a lot of things, a better way to find out is in person!

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, France, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States