CURRENT MISSION

Going with the flow.

ABOUT ME

I conside myself laid-back and mellow. I don't like partying but prefer to socialize in small groups. I am pretty comfortable by myself just as well.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I typically go couch surfing in the summer when I have time. The rest of the year I'm home. I haven't been able to host anyone yet, but looking forward to in the future. I try to go to local couchsurfing events but I'm usually too busy.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Clubbing in Berlin.
Drinking homemade vodka at an Uzbek restaurant in Paris.
Going for an evening stroll in Wroclaw, Poland.
Going on a food-tasting tour in Nanjing, China.
My first onsen experience in Aso, Japan.

Memories I won't forget.

Interests

LINGUISTICS

I love language and linguistics, which is why I'm studying linguistics for my PhD. I'm mostly interested in understanding how language is processed in the brain, computational models of language, and how these two diverge or intersect. I Like to analysis large amounts of data. That is my main area of research. I'm also interested in issues of language contact, language planning/policy, or anything related to computational linguistics.

VIDEO GAMES

I enjoy video games and video game music. My favorite genres are RPG, turned-based strategy, party games, and platformers.

Some games I like off the top of my head: Valkyrie Profile, Valkyrie Chronicles, Final Fantasy XII, Super Mario RPG, Deus Ex Human Revolution, Broken Age, Grim Fandango, Mario Kart, Super Smash Brothers, Fire Emblem Awakening, Chrono Trigger.

BACKPACKING

I like backpacking and have done so in Europe and Asia. I *try* to travel light so that my itinerary is not burdened by my luggage. I like my schedule to be flexible enough to take advantage of new opportunities that spring up.

PROGRAMMING

I like programming and have done so both professionally and for leisure. I have developed GUIs, worked with databases, and done some interactive 3D graphics. I prefer high-level software development to low-level. Most of the programming I do right now is related to speech technologies or scripting out various tasks. Python is my favorite programming language.

LANGUAGES

I love speaking in other languages although I can really only speak English. I studied Arabic for two years in my masters program, Japanese for 1 1/2 years in my undergraduate program, and French for three years in high school. I've been studying Thai for years on and off--and in the end I hardly speak any of these languages. :(

DIVING

I am a PADI Advanced Diver, although I've only gone diving in Dahab, Egypt (which was awesome!). I'm looking forward to diving more!

FOOD

I enjoy cooking and eating new food. When I travel, one of the things I like to do is sample the local cuisine.

BOARD GAMES

In the last few years I've gotten into board games. Here are some board games I enjoy and can recommend

Carcassone, Settlers of Catan, Battlestar Galactica, Love Letter, Dominion, Munchkin, Ticket to Ride, 7 Wonders, Splendor, King of Tokyo

• culture
• dining
• cooking
• drinking
• video games
• board games
• traveling
• music
• hiking
• backpacking
• scuba diving
• history
• languages
• software
• food
• nature

Music, Movies, and Books

T.V.: Game of Thrones, Arrested Development, Battlestar Galactica

Movies: Anything by Miyazaki, Last Life in the Universe, My Sassy Girl, Donny Darko, Chungking Express, Citizen Dog, Blade Runner, Farewell My Concubine, Ong Bak

Musicians/Bands: Hitoshi Sakimoto, Hiroki Kikuta, Yasunori Mitsuda, Nobuo Uematsu, Motoi Sakuraba, Yoko Kanno, The Arcade Fire, The SST Band, The JDK Band, Star Salzman

Books: 1984, Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, Norwegian Wood, The Silmarillion, The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, The Sirens of Titan, The Windup Girl, Dune, The Yacoubian Building, Khun Chang Khun Phaen

Authors: Haruki Murakami, J.R.R. Tolkien, Kurt Vonnegut, Paolo Bacigalupi

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Living in Siwa was pretty amazing. The ability to travel and communicate as we do is, in of itself, mindblowing.

Teach, Learn, Share

I spent a month researching the culture and language of an oasis in Egypt, Siwa. In a very short amount of time, the Siwan people have been swept up by globalization. Perhaps in a hundred years or so, their culture and language will be lost. And this is happening all over the world. I can teach you all about the history and culture of Siwa.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Cambodia, Canada, China, Egypt, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Mongolia, Poland, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, Japan, United States

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