CURRENT MISSION

To travel as much of the world as possible, and create beautiful films along the way.

ABOUT ME

I love meeting new people and learning about different cultures. Filmmaking is my passion, and I try to make films that are meaningful and reveal something about our crazy world. While traveling, I will always have my video camera with me.

PHILOSOPHY

My personal philosophy in life is to love others and treat them with kindness. I have no patience for selfish people, and I try to always listen and practice empathy. I'm the kind of person who has a handful of very close friends, rather than a hundred friends I don't much care for. I enjoy going out with my friends and having a good time, too, of course! Family is also a huge part of my life, and I love my family more than anything in the world.

If you don't have people you love and trust in your life like family and friends, then really what are you?

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I'm about to embark on a two month long journey to Italy and then Israel, so I'll be looking to meet people in both countries. I would love to go out for coffee, grab a drink, or check out the nightlife... I promise I'll reciprocate when I'm home if you ever want to come to New York City or Los Angeles (which is where I'm moving when I get home in July).

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Update May 28: The Italy experience has been amazing thus far... I've met some awesome people in Rome & Florence, and I just arrived in Bologna. After that, it's off to Venice and beyond!

Interests

Besides cinema, my second love in the world is dogs. I have a beagle named Molly who is the sweetest thing on this Earth (check out my pictures and you'll see!).

I also love to cook, and I think that food is a great way to discover new cultures. Cooking a different cuisine can really help you learn a great deal about the place the food comes from.

• dogs
• film making
• dining
• cooking
• coffee
• nightlife
• drinking
• movies
• traveling
• socializing

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: About Schmidt, Short Cuts, Les 400 Coupes, 8 1/2, La Dolce Vita, Contempt, Rules of the Game, The Good the Bad & the Ugly, Pulp Fiction, Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie and a ton of fun movies like 40-Year-Old-Virgin.

Music: Radiohead, the classics (Beatles, of course), jazz (Miles & Coltrane) and lately, Brit pop like Lily Allen and Little Boots.

Books: Lolita, the most beautifully written book in the English language. Also, Luis Buñuel's autobiography, My Last Sigh. It has been inspirational for me as a filmmaker.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

One of the most amazing experiences in my life was traveling to Poland with my grandfather to see where he grew up, and also where he was imprisoned during World War II and the Holocaust. It was so emotional to finally be connected with his story, which I had heard so much about as a child.

On one afternoon, we visited the mass grave where his parents were executed, simply because they were Jewish. It was a beautifully sunny day, but the closer we got to the spot, the cloudier the sky became. We said prayers and paid our respects, and just as we turned to leave a little while later, the sky opened up with rain. My grandfather cried and said, "It's times like these that I start to believe in heaven. This rain is the tears of my parents." After all he has been through, to hear he still has faith is truly amazing.

By the time we had made it back to the van, the clouds cleared and the sky was sunny again. It is an experience that will stay with me forever.

I made a 23-minute film about our entire trip, and I'll happily send the video link to anyone who wants to see it.

Teach, Learn, Share

The most important thing I've learned in life: following the golden rule will get you very far. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." I know this is cliché, and I'm not religious or anything (the quote comes from the Bible, right?), but some pieces of advice are well worn for a reason.

So I'm hoping the golden rule will apply to my future couchsurfing.com experience... If you offer to show me around Rome, explore the canals of Venice, or check out the nightlife in Florence or even Tel Aviv, I will surely reciprocate. Which might mean you have some delicious homemade food in your future... (I said I like to cook, didn't I?)

Countries I’ve Visited

Mexico, Poland, Puerto Rico, Spain

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States

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