CURRENT MISSION

To experience as much of life as possible.

ABOUT ME

My name is Tanner, and I am a person who enjoys good music, good beer, being outside, and sharing my experiences with others as well as hearing their own insight. I'm a sort of tea enthusiast, and I have been studying Chinese since 2015. I studied in Chengdu, China for the 2016/2017 school year and had a great time, and learned a lot. I formally study History at university, and it is something I am passionate about. I love to learn about historical events from people who have experienced them.

PHILOSOPHY

"We live on a mote of dust, suspended in a sunbeam."

-Carl Sagan

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

It's the best way to meet local people and really get a feel of where you are traveling. I love all the times I have had couchsurfing, and plan on doing so more in the future.

Interests

Music has been a passion of mine since I was young, and I have been playing both guitar and piano since I was around 11. I also like hiking and being outside, reading, playing video games, and good food. Especially good food.

• books
• dining
• chinese food
• beer
• movies
• video games
• reading
• traveling
• music
• guitar
• piano
• hiking
• chinese
• tea
• chinese culture
• oolong tea
• pu-erh tea
• puerh
• gongfucha

Music, Movies, and Books

:Music:
The Flashbulb, Boards of Canada, Aphex Twin, Amon Tobin, Tycho, Burial, Bibio, Bonobo, Com Truise, Flying Lotus, Bon Iver, M83, Nujabes, SBTRKT, Sigur Ros, Shpongle, Explosions in the Sky, Pink Floyd, Alt-J (∆), Snarky Puppy, Steely Dan, Pink Floyd, Disclosure, the xx/Jamie xx, Opeth, DJ Shadow, A Tribe Called Quest, Mr. Bungle, Tesseract, Arcade Fire, Skream, Thievery Corporation, Fleet Foxes, Outkast, Drudkh, Four Tet, Thundercat, Kendrick Lamar, Gorillaz, Aesop Rock, Flume, Do Make Say Think, Nile. I also enjoy jazz such as Miles Davis, Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Dave Brubeck, and if I kept going with this list I would break this site.

Almost forgot: I love classical music too. Chopin, Debussy, Mozart, Wagner, Mahler, Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Mendelssohn, Schubert, Liszt, Stravinsky, Vivaldi, Rameau, etc.

:Movies:
Any Kubrick film, A Touch of Zen, The Big Lebowski, Fargo, Seven Samurai, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Cloud Atlas, Come Drink With Me, The Machinist, The Art of Flight, In Bruges, Pulp Fiction, A Scanner Darkly, Groundhog Day, Her, Taxi Driver, The Silence of the Lambs, Snatch, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Leon the Professional, Chinatown, Trainspotting, Princess Mononoke, Moon, Waking Life, Jodorowsky's Dune, Lord of the Rings, The Human Condition, and much more. I love movies and TV shows and I see them as a great medium for presenting an idea or art.

:TV Shows:
Game of Thrones, Fargo, Samurai Champloo, Twin Peaks, Top Gear, Mushishi, No Reservations/Parts Unknown, Cowboy Bebop, Stranger Things, The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, House of Cards, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, Louie, Archer, Blackadder Goes Forth, Death Note, Avatar the Last Airbender, Rick and Morty, Freaks and Geeks, Cosmos (both Sagan's and Tyson's versions), The World At War, Band of Brothers, True Detective, and much more.

I also love documentaries, though I've seen too many to even begin creating a list of them.

:Books:
A Song of Ice and Fire series, Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, The Hobbit, Walden, Brave New World, Animal Farm, Demon-Haunted World, House of Leaves, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Death by Black Hole, Red Dragon, Watchmen, etc etc.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Climbing to the top of Emei Mountain in Sichuan province, China in April 2017. At the bottom of the mountain, the temperature was warm and comfortable, but after taking a bus to the starting point, it became a winter wonderland. Snow and ice everywhere, covering all of the trees, and a thick mist wrapping around the whole forest. That morning there was practically no one on the mountain but us, a rarity for China, and with all of the snow the mountain felt dead quiet. Getting to the top took about 6-7 hours in total I think, but we stayed at a Buddhist monastery when we were almost to the top since it was getting dark. There was no heating in the building, but they had big thick blankets we could use to stay warm. I slept in all of my hiking clothes that night. We woke up the next morning before sunrise, and made it to the top in about 30 minutes. Watching the sun rise over the mountains at the top of Emeishan, with all of the mist and snow, was one of the most amazing experienced I've ever had.

What I Can Share with Hosts

My experiences traveling, tea recommendations, history lessons (if you're into that), music, movies/tv shows, stories, and I like to get to know my hosts, so I can share conversation of course as well.

Also I'm clean and organized, and am willing to help out with whatever needs to be done. I'd like to give back as much as I can!

Countries I’ve Visited

Cayman Islands, China, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Switzerland, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

China, United States