CURRENT MISSION

Spend as much time as I can on music so that it can eventually become the job the supports me.

ABOUT ME

I've been living in Tbilisi for the past four years and Georgia since 2012. My apartment is in a very central location. At the moment, I work sporadically as a freelance editor and Georgian/English translator to support myself in music. I go by the name Fotgjengeren. I attend many meetings and organize some clubs in the Language Exchange Tbilisi every week (short video about the club: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwEDBevZE_E) and do lots of hiking around Georgia.

** I prefer last minute requests, not more than a week in advance.

PHILOSOPHY

I believe that life is simple, and I would like to live life as simply as possible, though I admit I struggle with that.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Unfortunately, will not be able to host anyone until beginning of October at least. Will be out of town for most of the time up until then.

I've done surfing for quite a while, was actively hosting surfers for the first time last and am starting to host surfers again. Last year I recorded my couchsurfers speaking various languages and featured them together in an album called Purenas, the Chuvash word for "Life". (https://fotgjengeren.bandcamp.com/album/purenas)

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

The people on this site are great. All my experiences have been postive. I've met some wonderful people.

Interests

I've been playing music since I was 9, starting on saxophone and then adding other instruments along the way. I write music under the name Fotgjengeren (For full discography: http://fotgjengeren.bandcamp.com/)

Learning new languages is something I can't live my life without. At the moment, Georgian is a big part of my life, though I get to practice many other languages as well in the Language Exchange Club Tbilisi. It's hard to keep up with all the languages, so I go to as many meetings as I can.

• culture
• books
• dining
• reading
• traveling
• music
• hiking
• surfing
• teaching
• languages

Music, Movies, and Books

Music-this comes in phases, though some artists stick with me. Recently I've been fluctuating between Japanese ambient/electronic music (Susumu Yokota), techno (Rzeng), modern classical (mostly spectral music, e.g. Haas, Radulescu, Scelsi), electronic (trying to find artists that combine instruments with electronic music, though this isn't always easy. Murcof is cool) I've also been a big fan of Kayo Dot and works by Toby Driver for years now. I've listened to a lot of rock and metal over the years.

Books-The Familiar book series by Mark Z. Danielewski

Movies-I don't watch too many anymore. Ever since I've been in Georgia, I've been watching less.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I booked my first solo tour on my own. Got to go to many countries, but it went by so fast. Had to get from one concert to the next and sometimes the distances were really big and it wasn't always easy to get enough sleep. I plan on doing this again, despite all of the difficulties.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can share with people my knowledge of music, experiences from travel and hiking, my interest in languages and other stories about myself. I'm open to learning many things, and I try to live my life in a way that I'm always learning and having new experiences.

Countries I’ve Visited

Armenia, Bermuda, Bulgaria, Canada, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Nepal, Netherlands, Norway, Palestine, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Zimbabwe

Countries I’ve Lived In

Georgia, Ireland, United States