CURRENT MISSION

Help people find sustainance in themselves

ABOUT ME

I figured my friends were the best people to answer this questions, so I polled them. These are their actual responses:

"Life changing massage" - Eric S

"considerate, thoughtful, and fun" - Dan K

"He's the sort of guy everyone feels comfortable around" - Edward G

"Giver of great hugs, maker of delicious food" Becca F

"One of the most hospitable guys around, doesnt mind being bothered at 3am for him to let you in, and he has a kick ass spice rack" - Jake R

"Super creative, adventurous, and a great chef!" - Alexandra S

"He plans his life based on the next 20 minutes which is long enough to enjoy an activity but not too long enough for you to hate it. Also, he got me into rosemary" - Shahad A

PHILOSOPHY

I can't escape my freedom so I'll embrace it

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I'm new here, looking forward to meeting people

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

While not through this website, I've hosted many surfers and been one as well. There was a house in Chicago, IL I visited practically every year while an undergraduate. I really bonded with some of the people there, and they've become my good friends.

Interests

4 activities I love most: cooking food for friends; riding a bicycle; music (going to concerts, listening to records); looking at and making art, specially I love printmaking (check out my out-of-date profile at sarms.carbonmade.com)

Beyond the above 4, reading philosophy and modern American literature, exercise, taking time to get to know new cultures, participating in politics.

• arts
• literature
• design
• graphic design
• concerts
• dining
• cooking
• exercise
• dieting
• drinking
• politics
• reading
• socializing
• knitting
• music
• swimming
• business
• engineering

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: Guy Richie, Woody Allen, Stanley Kubrick, Wes Anderson

Music: Velvet Underground, Beta Band, Dirtbombs are my top three. Pronto Punk is my top genre (followed closely by Motown). If I could see any band alive, it'd be Radiohead

Books: Douglas Adams, the European Existentialists, Jorge Luis Borges, Whitman

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Best night of my life: met with a eclectic mix of friends at my house for drinks; around midnight we leave to seek out a secret bar in the forest, we followed a string of lights into the forest to find the bar, we drank, danced, watched a shadow puppet show, and a beautiful woman play the harp, also a friendly stranger gave me the rest of her drink; my friends and I left the bar when it started raining to skinny dip in a nearby river, at this point is raining very hard and lightening is cracking through the sky, the feeling of pelting rain while your swimming is beautiful; after swimming, we walk back to my place, a few of us showered, and I cooked a meal for my hungry friends; we eat Spanish saffron rice with sausage, most of us sleep on the couch, some sleep in beds. Best night ever.

While I don't usually seek out celebrated monuments and attractions, standing in following landmarks was exceptional:
-The Great Wall of China: much, much longer than I imagined, not as tall, but a lot wider. This thing is built on a mountain top, how they hauled giant slabs of stone up there, I have no idea. At times it is very steep and very difficult to traverse
-The Coliseum in Rome: again, much larger than I imagined and a marvel of ancient engineering. When you're there and consider all the blood split on people backing into it, it is awe-inspiring
-The Grand Canyon: One of nature's greatest gifts; massive, colorful, and pristine.

Teach, Learn, Share

Teach:
Screen printing
Letter Press
Graphic Design
Arabic language
Cooking anything for anyone's diet
Business Development
How to teach others
Massages
Bicycle repair
Health training and nutrition

Learn:
woodblock printing
French language
Spanish language
Sewing
Knitting
Programming

What I Can Share with Hosts

My story
A listening ear
A meal I've cooked for them

Countries I’ve Visited

China, Egypt, France, Hungary, Italy, Serbia

Countries I’ve Lived In

Iraq, Jordan, United States