Born in the Western United States, I moved to DC for university (thought I wanted to be President of the US. Humbler in my maturity, I now only want to be a Senator). I left university to serve as a missionary for my church for two years in Melbourne, Australia, where I learned Chinese (I worked out of a Chinese congregation). Returning to DC, I helped at a microfinance company there and decided to combine my interest in microfinance with my Chinese knowledge--I traveled to China where for 8 months I researched first rural and then urban microfinance programs. I have now graduated from university and just moved to England to get a Masters Degree.

That all sounds really put together. In a way, it is. But, really, I'm just a wandering 24-year-old hoping to figure out what to do with the next few years of his life--I'm hoping that by meeting a bunch of y'all I might just begin to understand what to do and who to become.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

A few years ago a friend of mine used Couchsurfing to cover all of Western Europe in a summer. I was nervous when she left--at age 19, she had never traveled alone before, and she seemed to be taking a risk with this site.

Her report, of course, converted me to Couchsurfing. She met lifelong friends, saw her worldview expanded and challenged, and came back a more confident, mature, worldly, and empathetic person. It amazed me that she could build so many intimate relationships with so many different people in as many countries in such a short time. I knew that I wanted a similar experience.

Now is my opportunity. I am a student in the UK, with cheap(er) access to Europe than ever before. I want to seize this opportunity, and I want to seize it the same way she did--on the couches of ordinary people.

Interests

I enjoy nature, writing (someday I might blog), running, listening to audiobooks, reading movie reviews, and fantasizing about my love life.

• writing
• running
• reading
• blogging
• history

Music, Movies, and Books

I am probably the most boring person in the world when it comes to music. I listen to a lot of classical music (recently, opera music), as well as a lot of indie folk. In either case, if it weren't for Spotify I'd probably still be listening to Counting Crows on repeat.

Regarding books, I have recently thrown myself into British literature from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th. I am fascinated by that 100-year span in the UK's history--the rise and fall of empire, the industrial revolution, urbanization, the effects of two world wars, etc. I have read Eliot, Waugh, Forster, Dickens, etc. to gain a greater understanding of this era in my new country. That said, I've still kept a bit of the US inside me--I'm currently plowing through East of Eden.

Film. Ah, film. If music was a one night thing in high school, film is my soul mate (you can tell because I am calling this category 'film,' not 'movies.' I promise that I'm less pretentious than I sound). My default favorite film is A River Runs Through It, but secretly I love Silver Linings Playbook more than anything. But I also watched that movie with a girl who broke my heart, so it's a hard one for me to rewatch. Also, I thought Boyhood should have won the Oscar last year.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I once took a 21-hour standing only train from Shanghai to Guangzhou to have dinner with a woman who already had a boyfriend.

Ask me more about it when we meet--and probably keep me away from your girlfriend.*

*THAT'S A JOKE I HAVE A GIRLFRIEND NOW SO I'M VERY TAME.

Teach, Learn, Share

If you wanna learn how to write a screenplay, I'm your man.

If you want help with an application (to college, for a job), then you've found the right guy.

If you want proven relationship advice, move on.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I will share informed discussion about the economic and political situation of wherever we are--it's the kind of thing I gobble up, and the kind of conversation I cannot get enough of.

Also, a lot about architectural history.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, Germany, Mexico, Russian Federation

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, China, England, United States