At the moment, whittling away at a PhD in Classics at Princeton, but with no real intention of going into academia afterwards; I just love reading Latin and getting to spend a few years snuggled in a library with mountains of books on my desk. In a few years, I think I'd like to open a jiu jitsu academy (Brazilian, not Japanese) with my partner, somewhere on the west coast, but... we'll see.

I love conversations that don't feel like they come with a time limit, and I love being in the wild. I've backpacked all over the US, and hope to thru-hike the Te Araroa soon, maybe next summer.

I grew up cycling and surfing, and try to find a balance between intellectual life and being fully present in my body. Everything in its right place. More than anything, I love grappling; I'll still be on the mats when I'm 80.

I've travelled far more in the US than abroad (hazard of learning only dead languages for so long), but I'm working on it. It was never the tourist things, always the people I met, that drew me and then stayed with me afterwards. I don't own a smartphone, which is isolating at times, but feels more human.

My partner is a dancer, but I'm completely allergic. Still, I think the world needs more dancers.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

My first cycling tour, east-to-west across the States, I stayed with strangers, knocking on doors in every town I stayed in and asking to sleep on someone's couch. This was before CouchSurfing existed, before the ubiquity of smartphones. I always found a place to stay. So, when CouchSurfing came about, I joined.

I've always tried to be a host to anyone who needed a place, to repay the many people who helped me over the years, but sometimes I'm a little bit homeless, myself, and just don't have a couch or bed to offer.

I don’t think of CS as a free hotel; it’s more like visiting a friend, just one that you’ve never met before.

Interests

• humanities
• running
• pottery
• painting
• guitar
• cycling
• backpacking
• surfing
• rock climbing
• swimming
• jiu jitsu
• languages
• bjj
• brazilian jiu jitsu
• classics
• squirrels

Music, Movies, and Books

Books: Sometimes a Great Notion, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, Blood Meridian, Stoner, Cold Mountain, 100 Years of Solitude, Tinkers, Invisible Cities, The Bromeliad, Hard Boiled Wonderland at the End of the World, The Sirens of Titan, Catch-22, Harry Potter.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Ithaca to SF Cycling Tour (2010), PCT (2013), Portland to SF Cycling Tour (2014), CT (2015)

What I Can Share with Hosts

Good (hopefully) conversation, help with any chores or with cooking (I'm not especially gifted at this, but I'll chop, peel, or slice anything you put in front of me), and easygoing company.

Countries I’ve Visited

Egypt, England, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Portugal, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States