CURRENT MISSION

Do something interesting.

ABOUT ME

Born and grew up in in New Jersey. I'm vegetarian and speak passable Gujarati, though riddled with mistakes in gender and pronunciation. But I figure if Indians can speak Indian English, why can't I speak American Gujarati?

PHILOSOPHY

Here are some quotes I like instead:

“People travel to faraway places to watch, in fascination, the kind of people they ignore at home.” – Dagobert D. Runes

“A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.” – Lao Tzu

“For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” – Robert Louis Stevenson

“A wise traveler never despises his own country.” – Carlo Goldoni

“Too often travel, instead of broadening the mind, merely lengthens the conversation.” – Elizabeth Drew

“The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one’s own country as a foreign land.” – G. K. Chesterton

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Well, I plan to participate by sleeping on someone's couch or meeting someone to show me around. And I could do the same for someone else.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I stayed with Fani in Montreal with my two cousins in 2008. In 2009 I met up with Daniel in Rio who showed me around there and stayed with Tamiris in Sao Paulo. And I went with friends to Montreal again and stayed at Marc's in 2010. All were very good experiences.

Interests

From colonial architecture to modern construction methods, textile production, popular movies, art house cinema, photography, investment banking, early modern Indian history (1700-1800), web design and development, consumer electronics, material science, furniture design, typography, and some other things too...

• arts
• architecture
• design
• photography
• cooking
• vegetarian
• electronics
• movies
• traveling
• history
• science

Music, Movies, and Books

Favorite Movie

English title: Vagabond, French title: Sans Toit ni Loi [Without Roof or Law] - It's this dreary sort of movie about a disaffected youth wandering around the French country side before she dies of exposure in a ditch. "You've read too many books; they've rotted your mind." Ask me about this quote and you'll learn more about me than you could glean from a dozen other questions.

Favorite Books

Phantom Tollbooth - It's a book about this sad, alienated 10 year old going through a toy tollbooth into this fantasy world which brightens his outlook on life.

Calvin and Hobbes - I've read and reread them so many times I've lost count.

I've read plenty of other good books since, but I remember really enjoying these when I was in elementary school so I count them as my favorites.

Music

Artists - Otis Redding, Tom Lehrer, Lata Mangeshkar, Moh'd Rafi, Fiery Furnaces, Glenn Miller, Renato Carosone

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I'm always a little amazed when I get around a new city or country without getting in any trouble. It's a cliche, but I think the most amazing thing I've seen is the kindness of strangers at home and when traveling. From simple directions, jump starting my car battery and installing it even to the CSers who've shown me around and given me a place to stay.

Teach, Learn, Share

If you have the patience, I'd like to learn more Gujarati, Hindi, and French. I can help you with your English and the technical aspects of photography. I can bake fairly well: cookies, brownies or cake and can cook a bit.

Countries I’ve Visited

Brazil, Canada, France, India, Italy, Switzerland, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States