I am currently a teacher of English in the Republic of Georgia, specifically Vejini, Kakheti, soon to begin my second year at the same village school. I grew up in the United States (Oregon and Virginia), where I studied history and creative writing. I read and write when I can, and intend to pursue further graduate work someday.

I have been married to Kirsten Callahan since November 2013, and we travel together. She is a Mississippian, a creative writer and sometime nanny, and also an English teacher in Georgia.

We enjoy traveling because we like to learn and we like to experience new places and cultures. We are flexible and laid-back, and we try to be clean and responsible. Our favorite part of couchsurfing is the chance to connect on a local level, and we prefer to take our time to get to know people and places rather than try to make it to all the sites. We are happy to accommodate the needs of our hosts.

Interests

I read in a variety of fields, but especially history, literature, philosophy, theology, religion, art, languages. My wife is especially interested in languages and writing, and she is highly talented. We both enjoy walking, tea, new food, quiet evenings with friends, and books.

• arts
• culture
• writing
• books
• literature
• dining
• walking
• traveling
• divinity
• teaching
• geography
• history
• languages
• religion

Music, Movies, and Books

My favorite authors include, in no particular order, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Nikolai Gogol, Jorge Luis Borges, Milan Kundera, Tobias Wolfe, Thomas Mann, Victor Hugo, Jules Verne, George Eliot, William Faulkner, Vladimir Nabokov, Shusaku Endo, Orhan Pamuk, Cormac McCarthy, Ferdowsi, Luo Guanzhong, David Bentley Hart, Annie Dillard, Flannery O'Connor, G. K. Chesterton, Lloyd Alexander, George MacDonald, Charles Williams, J.R.R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, Simone Weil, Thomas Merton, Tomas Transtromer, Rumi, St. Silouan, Josef Pieper, Georges Florovsky, St. John of the Cross, St. John Damascene, St. Gregory of Nyssa, Umberto Eco, James C. Scott, and Wendell Berry.

I enjoy many popular movies, but I am most moved the works of Tarkovsky, Kieslowski, Erice, and Bergman. I am also a fan of Studio Ghibli.

Musically, I mostly listen to classical, folk, and ethnic. Some of my favorite modern composers and performers are Arvo Part, John Tavener, Sufjan Stevens, Fleet Foxes, Cahalen Morrison & Eli West, Popol Vuh, Nick Cave, Joanna Newsom, Laura Marling, Iron and Wine, Stan Rogers, Fariborz Lachini, and the Corries.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I try to study the places I live and visit in some depth--history, geography, culture, and so forth. When I travel, I enjoy sharing and learning more from new people and places. My wife can bake and works hard to learn the local languages.

Countries I’ve Visited

Armenia, Bulgaria, Georgia, Israel, Jordan, Mexico, Turkey

Countries I’ve Lived In

Georgia, United States