CURRENT MISSION

To see more amazing places. To eat more delicious food. To meet more cool people. Not necessarily in that order.

ABOUT ME

We are a couple that met and got married as a result of a blind date (yes they really do work!).

I am an adventurous and slightly nerdy engineer. I work in the mining industry, but aspire to be a sound engineer (I can explain the very clear connection between the two careers when we meet over a tasty beverage). I love to travel, but have grown up with very structured experiences. Now I'm in search of a more impulsive, less structured, and more cultural experience of travel. Things I love: Indian food (my motto: if it's from the subcontinent I probably love it), feeling clean shaven (nothing beats a straight blade shave), Belgian beers (is there anything you can add to that statement?), the sound of snow crunching under your feet, laughing so hard I cry, music (all kinds...quiet and slow, loud and thumping, fast and obnoxious), the smell of new sneakers, and dogs (though I have never owned one myself).

Trushna, my wife, is the perfect mix of wonderfully sweet and caring with brutal honesty. She is fun and laid back with a great goofiness. She loves the small things in life in a way I can't describe. Things she loves: flowers in her hair, dancing (she dances in clubs, movies, the car, our house, the street, and anywhere in between), grits (she's from the South...enough said), painting (drop by to see some of her work), and playing in summer rain (we are both disappointed that there isn't any warm summer rain in Northern California).

PHILOSOPHY

The best way to sum up my personal philosophy is to say: compassion. Some friends and I started a website (www.helpothers.org) and while I don't get to do as much as I would like in that line of thinking that captures it best.

Another personal "philosophy" (if you can consider it that) that is close to me is the Gift Economy. Both HelpOthers.org and CouchSurfing in various ways embody the Gift Economy or the concept of Pay It Forward. We have plenty of stories/examples about both that we can share/discuss:).

My parents have had the greatest influence on my life and I try very hard to live my life in such a way that would show how great they are. It's funny writing everything I have for this profile I feel very hokey and cheesy, but is it really that if it's true?

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

We are both relatively new to Couch Surfing. We had a great trip to Oregon in September 2008 that was our initiation into Couchsurfing. Our place is barely containing us so for now we aren't hosting.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Our first experience was wonderful. We road tripped up to Eugene, Oregon and stayed along the way on several couches. One of the best experiences on our first trip was having Andrew and Hannah take us tailgating for the UO/UW football game. We got into the trip too late otherwise we might have even been able to attend the game. After having been to many tailgate parties in the South I was blown away how hard they throw down in Oregon.

Since then we've surfed in Seattle (w/Emily) and Barcelona (w/Roser and Arnau) and hosted (Lina, Josch, Jose, Arnau, and Roser). We also met up with some CSers (Vanessa and Allison) in Udaipur.

It still amazes us what cool, kind hearted, and generous people we have met through Couchsurfing.

Interests

Things I am interested in...photography, music, books, skiing, scuba diving, movies, soccer (I'm American enough that I call it soccer, but not enough so that I don't follow the major tournaments), college football (I went to college in the south where this is a religion), volunteering, and cooking.

Things Trushna is interested in...dance (hip hop, salsa, traditional Indian, flamenco, etc.), painting, cooking, basketball (she gets into the major tournaments), volunteering, philosophy, and psychology

• dogs
• writing
• books
• photography
• dancing
• flamenco
• dining
• cooking
• indian food
• beer
• partying
• clubbing
• flowers
• movies
• traveling
• painting
• music
• surfing
• scuba diving
• skiing
• basketball
• soccer
• engineering
• psychology
• religion
• volunteering

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies...Blues Brothers, Lagaan, Star Wars, Infernal Affairs, The Constant Gardener, Superbad, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Transformers, Bollywood movies, Goonies, Joy Luck Club, The Godfather, Spaceballs, and any dance movie.

Music...Hip Hop, Rock, Blues, Indian Classical, World, and Jazz.

Books...To Kill a Mockingbird, Unaccustomed Earth, Maya Angelou, Eckart Tolle, The Alchemist, Memoirs of a Geisha, Shantaram, The Kite Runner, Me Talk Pretty One Day, Narnia series, The Count of Monte Cristo, the Sandman series

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Neerav: Waking after sleeping under the stars to a fogged in desert 30 mi from the border with Pakistan and India.

Trushna: In Costa Rica I swam to a cave right next to the La Fortuna Waterfall. I almost drowned when the current pushed me towards the rocks. I jumped into the waterfall from the cave and it was well worth the near death experience.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Belgium, Belize, Cambodia, France, Gibraltar, India, Indonesia, Jamaica, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Singapore, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Costa Rica, India, Spain, United States

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