I was born and raised on Long Island in a small town outside of New York City in the USA, then studied civil engineering in Pennsylvania. Now I have been living and working (also PhD'ing) at a university in Dresden, Germany since 2011 and totally digging the European people, places and pace of life.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

To save money while traveling, but also to enrich the experiences I have at the places I visit by having personal contact with people living there and seeing the world through their eyes, and also to be able to offer others the same opportunity in places I live.

Interests

I play music (mandolin, guitar, tuba) and love to sing songs, mostly old and new folk songs from the US, Ireland and Germany. Otherwise I also love a good long walk or bike ride, in infrequent but heavy doses. I thrive on taking in and reflecting on new information I find, through friends, potential friends (strangers), books, blogs, podcasts, interviews, documentaries, and a variety of fiction. One of my favorite topics is human rationality, and how we can tap into it, improve it and apply it to make sure that humans stick around as long as possible. Humans are my favorite species!

• culture
• singing
• documentaries
• reading
• music
• guitar
• cycling
• economics
• engineering
• artificial intelligence
• rationality
• mandolin
• evolutionary psychology

Music, Movies, and Books

Acoustic music with strong vocals and vocal harmonies (bluegrass, good country, folk),

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Walked to the source of the River Ganges (Ganga), then walked even further to a Himalayan Meadow above, only to share a juicebox with a self-styled guru wearing a full-body bright red swiss-style ski suit.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Interesting conversations about cool topics, a song, lots of smiles and an easy-going and patient nature!

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Austria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, England, Estonia, India, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Russian Federation, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland

Countries I’ve Lived In

Germany, United States