CURRENT MISSION

Meet new people and help travelers

ABOUT ME

I just finished my engineering degree at University of Illinois. Now I'm working as a research assistant at Northwestern University, and eventually moving on to Los Angeles to work on my PhD.

I've spent most of my life in Chicago, but traveled extensively in the States. I'm a fly-fisherman, so many of my best trips have been with my father seeking the best fishing experience. I lived for a three year stint in Albuquerque, New Mexico, so I'm pretty well versed with the southwest as well.

While I am devoted to science, my passion is building and repairing things. My parents were both carpenters (yes my mother too) so I am constantly surrounded by construction. Even today, in my parents dining room sits a chop saw and various other tools. I took up welding instead, and became interested in architectural metalworking.

PHILOSOPHY

I used to want to change the world. I had dreams of designing spaceships that could traverse the galaxies by methods of breaking down the 11 dimensions and traveling through wormholes.

Now, I am now pretty content with life as it is. I don't think I need to be an astrophysicist to be happy.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

My couch is always up for people to stay in, unless that is, I'm someplace else.

For the past few years, I've been quite nomadic, having moved my entire life as I knew it at least 5 times in the last 5 years.

I really think the best way to travel is to live someplace, but when I can not do that, I want to be with someone who does live there. Thus, couch surfing is ideal.

I enjoy hosting people and staying with them equally.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Stayed with Daphne in Kuala Lampur.
Stayed with Brooke in Toronto,
Stayed with Branden in St. Catharines
Stayed with Leon and Valerie in Quebec City
Hosted Ela in Prague
Hosted Oona in Prague
Stayed with Jesse in Berlin
Hosted Dominique in Prague

Interests

I find myself easily getting interested in way too many things, but there have been a few that have always been around, and I don't think I'll ever drop. Since an early age I loved riding my bike, but now I think I'm more facinated by bike repair.

While basketball was the sport of my youth (I'm 6'4") I've taken quite strongly to Ultimate Frisbee.

I've always been an avid fisherman, however that can be difficult in Chicago. Its still one of my deepest passions as one of the greatest things about it, is you always get to travel to some of the most amazing places. This is usually more fun than the fishing its self.

Photography is something I've picked up recently and I enjoy the simple aspects of it. I'm more interested in capturing memories than making art, however, the enjoyment of taking a good picture is always worthwhile. I like small cameras, as anything large is just a burden on my experience.

• arts
• photography
• dining
• beer
• drinking
• flying
• traveling
• metalworking
• cycling
• fishing
• surfing
• sports
• basketball
• boxing
• engineering
• science
• mountains

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Traveling by motorbike in the Vietnamese mountains and seeing the utter vastness of the American Southwest seem to be good answers for this, but too typical.

One of my greatest travel memories was while I was studying engineering in Vietnam. I used to go to this one bar with a group of Czech students, who drank copious amounts of beer, and liked this one place because of the large serving size. While drinking I watched the 12 year old kids who ran the place (their father was usually in the back, or not at the bar) chase a rat around some of the shelves where the glasses were stored. They then cornered it on a windowsill and pulled it by its tail off. Luckily it landed safely into a box of peanuts, where it tromped around, in the process of escape. I continued to eat the peanuts which were on my table.

Countries I’ve Visited

Cambodia, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Laos, Mexico, Poland, Spain, Switzerland

Countries I’ve Lived In

Czech Republic, United States, Viet Nam

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