Hi there, I'm Thomas! I'm pretty driven and goal-oriented while still being a very laid-back and friendly person. I was born in Japan, raised in Oregon, and I'm currently working on my MA degree in social studies teaching. I love learning, and I hope to have a career in education as a high school history teacher, and maybe eventually an administrator or college guidance counselor.

Here's an old video -- which has become more cringy as I've aged, but has possibly been helpful with this profile -- that hopefully proves I'm at least a minimally decent person:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5UtLAZ3Otc

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I've done this twice before as a guest, and it was a great way to travel alone and quickly feel more connected to the place I was visiting. I look forward to hosting frequently when I have a spacious home. As of now, I could potentially host you in my single graduate dorm room for emergency NYC visitors, but can't promise many nice amenities.

Interests

I'm all about love and social justice, especially working toward things like racial justice, gender equality, environmental sustainability, and educational access for people in under-resourced communities. I have close friends all across the political spectrum and I truly enjoy connecting with people regardless of differences or commonalities... we can all learn from one another.

• poetry
• photography
• film making
• video games
• billiards
• live music
• hip-hop music
• sports
• teaching
• history
• bicycling
• pokemon go
• culturally relevant pedagogy

Music, Movies, and Books

Music is important to me and I pretty much embrace it all. Some of my favorites include Weezer, Nas, The Avett Brothers, Lady Gaga, Rage Against the Machine, Dierks Bentley, and Florence + the Machine.
Best concerts I've been to: Paul McCartney (twice), Watsky (many times), Tenacious D, J. Cole, Queens of the Stone Age, Weezer, ICP, and the Arctic Monkeys.

For movies, my favorite directors are the Coen Brothers and Hitchcock, and I'm always happy to argue that Vertigo is the greatest film of all time. I also love Anchorman, When Harry Met Sally, To Live (easily my favorite foreign film), and the documentary Jesus Camp.

My favorite book is Night by Elie Wiesel, but I'm also a Harry Potter freak, and I one day hope to finish Infinite Jest.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

In 2008, I got to to meet Senator Barack Obama when he was campaigning in my city. I'll never forget how he greeted me with a handshake, a smile, and a warm "thank you."

In 5th grade I also became the legal owner of a grizzly bear named Jeanette.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can happily teach basic Japanese.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I'm a semi-professional photographer, happy to do any kinds of shots.
I'm also a musician: I rap as "Gradient" and my album "Ambition" is on Spotify, iTunes, etc (I also have videos on YouTube).

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, Dominica, Germany, Grenada, Mexico, Montserrat, Netherlands, Puerto Rico

Countries I’ve Lived In

Italy, Japan, United States