CURRENT MISSION

Colleen and I are traveling through Australia! We love exploring its culture, history, people, and land.

ABOUT ME

We love exploring new lands, new cultures, new jobs, and art & music, and new food.... mostly new food.

Colleen and I like to think of ourselves as "mature backpackers". We're not into city life or the party scene. What we are really into is learning how people have made their homes self-sufficient, or have been able to make a living off of their land, or have a practical skill they are willing to share. Both of us come from backgrounds in the hospitality industry and are a bit burned out on customer service jobs. We're probably a bit more independent than most, and are looking for that lifestyle. Colleen and I have been friends for most of our lives, but we only started traveling together fulltime about two years ago.

In 2013, I traveled across the USA. It was an amazing first real experience traveling long-term and I made several lasting friendships. In 2014 I visited Ireland, Scotland, Germany, Austria, Romania, and many places in between. Europe was an amazing growing experience for me and allowed me to really explore my family's identity as well as my own. In 2015 I backpacked through New Zealand, Australia, and the US state of Hawai‘i. 2016 saw me back in the USA, this time traveling with Colleen in our big, "American style" truck through the Rocky Mountains. We worked on a ranch in Montana for a season, then caught a flight down to New Zealand again! After 7 months there, we hopped over to Australia and are in the midst of a massive road trip for the remainder of 2017.

In my free time I like to do lots of crazy hobbies- I play the pipe organ, I brew my own mead (honey wine), play soccer, try to hike every mountain I can, pretend to be a professional photographer, try new foods and new recipes, and grow heirloom veggies in my garden. I love meeting people who like doing any of those things- I know you're out there!

Colleen shares many of the same interests, but also enjoys reading and writing. She hopes to one day make a career of writing. She also knows a thing or two about art, specifically painting.

FYI for future hosts: we are vegetarian, but we will still eat dairy, and especially appreciate ice cream :)

PHILOSOPHY

The Dos Equis Man is the embodiment of my personal philosophy- live life to its fullest and take some chances. One day I'll be like this guy-https://youtu.be/fYdwe3ArFWA.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I am currently on an extended travel/journey: I participate by surfing on couches, BUT, I will gladly put my culinary skills to work to feed my hosts!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

So far I have surfed in the USA, Scotland, Germany, Austria, New Zealand, and Auatralia. Each one has been unique, and each one has been awesome :)

Interests

My interests include practicing speaking new languages (especially German), hiking, music, food, hockey, soccer, and cultural discussions.

• culture
• beauty
• dining
• traveling
• music
• hiking
• surfing
• skydiving
• soccer
• hockey
• history
• languages

Music, Movies, and Books

I play pipe organ....

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Living with a traditional Roma (Gypsy) family in România- an all new and incredible way to look at life.

Skydiving over Fox Glacier, New Zealand- once I got over the fact that falling wasn't going to kill me, I could totally appreciate the beauty of its special landscape.

Teach, Learn, Share

Teaching- just about anything with food or music.

Learning- I am looking for people to practice my German speaking with.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I am happy to share my skills, time, knowledge, and interests with my hosts. Of course, I always try to keep an open mind if a host has a specific need I can help with.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Austria, Belize, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, Romania, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States