CURRENT MISSION

Become more fluent in French, start working on some Spanish or German, maybe. Want to teach me?

ABOUT ME

(C'est en anglais, mais n'hésitez pas à me contacter en français !)

I'm American-Israeli, but have been living in France for just over a year now (who knows if I'll ever escape the attraction of healthcare, good food, impressive public transit, and the friendly people of the north?)

I teach English at a nearby university, and really enjoy what I do.

In university, I studied philosophy, so--as you might imagine--my interests are diverse and I get very nerdy about a lot things in this infinitely interesting world. I especially love cooking, bikes, and books! I love to learn about international cuisine, so, if you stay here, come ready to eat well (hopefully you're coming in a time when I have the time after work to cook!) and share your own recipes. I love cycling in all of its forms, and like to repair and build bicycles too. I spend a fair amount of time at Lille's "Atelier Velo"--the bike collective, where I while away my evenings fixing friend's bikes and generally enjoying getting my hands dirty. I love cyclotouring, and have pedaled across the south of France, across some of the north (Picardie and Nord Pas de Calais), as well as in Michigan.

I also love music, films, philosophy, nerding out about urban transport systems and city planning, among other things.

I spend many hours browsing Wikipedia--I guess I have a thirst for knowing a little about a lot of different areas. I feel like expanding your net of knowledge as broadly as possible makes your experience of the world so much richer and more beautiful.

Oh, yes, also: beer!

Before moving here, I traveled through Europe by bike, train, and bus. I hadn't had much of a chance to travel before, so it was incredible having the opportunity to meet so many new people, practice speaking different languages, and see new things. My favorite part about traveling is meeting people and having a chance to really interact with people in a culture different than my own. My imagining of the trip from hell would be the idea of traveling in a 1st class train and staying in hotels, surrounding myself with English speakers, and generally avoiding the embarrassment, discomfort, and uncertainty that comes with travel. I much prefer the genuine human connection that comes from unsterilized travel.

I've also seen so much of the vast, wonderful United States. I'll rant to whomever will listen about the fact that 95% of people I've met who've traveled to see the USA have failed to really take in much of the diversity and cultural richness of the country. The USA is more than NYC, LA, and Chicago (though I do love the great cities . The USA is much more than just the Grand Canyon. The USA is strange, confusing, alternatively xenophobic and endlessly welcoming. It's hundreds of different languages and cities and towns. It has a lot of problems, but I love it as much as I love anywhere (or is this just me ranting because I'm homesick from living in France?).

PHILOSOPHY

I studied philosophy in university, so it always bothers me when that word is used in such a vague way. I guess if I were to have to distill the way I think and live into a sound-byte, it'd be to say, "Things are complicated." I think the world is incredibly complex. I love to talk about philosophy, politics, culture, etc; I love to hear other people's opinions and am happy when others disagree with me; what I can't stand, however, is when people think they have simple answers to complex questions.

I think you can see why it bugs me so much to try and explain my "personal philosophy" in just a paragraph...
UPDATED (information below is now outdated, but still potentially interesting for anyone traveling to Lille/Roubaix)
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I'm currently living in Roubaix, France, and working as a high school English teaching assistant. I'm just getting to know the area, but I'm already falling in love with it! Lille is beautiful, and only a 40 minute bicycle ride (20 minutes on métro) away, but I think Roubaix is also worth visiting!

People tend to dismiss the idea of going to Roubaix because it's the poorest city in France and has the highest crime. But, It's a city that's full of diversity, culture, history, and palpable energy. I don't much care for people who are willing to dismiss entire cities, countries, or regions because of what they've heard. If you're traveling, but staying only on the most commonly traveled paths, you're missing so much that is good and beautiful about the world.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I spent the last couple of months traveling around Europe, Israel and Morocco; this was my first time surfing. I joined CS a couple of years ago, but never had the chance to host because I lived in a tiny dormitory room. I've really enjoyed meeting people through the CS community as I go to new places, and staying with CS hosts has made my journey so much more meaningful to me.

I'll be moving to a new home this Fall, and hopefully I'll finally have a place that I can host people in. I'm looking forward to being able to give back to this community after all of the kindness I've been shown.

Interests

Books, cooking, bicycles, books, music, books, languages, and books. Did I mention books?

• culture
• books
• dining
• cooking
• recipes
• beer
• politics
• movies
• traveling
• socializing
• music
• cycling
• surfing
• history
• languages

Music, Movies, and Books

As with most people, there are far too many to list. I'll just go with one of each that I enjoyed. Movie: Annie Hall, Music: Yo La Tengo, and Father John Misty Book: Infinite Jest, by David Foster Wallace.

Teach, Learn, Share

I love languages. I speak English, French, Italian, and some Hebrew, but am always excited to pick up bits and pieces of any language I come upon.

I enjoy working with my hands building and fixing bikes. I'm no real expert, but I can always help you fix your bike or teach you how to do it yourself.

I love cooking and sharing meals with other people. As I travel, It'd make me really happy to have the chance to learn about different cultures' cuisines. Let's cook together!

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Morocco, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, France, United States