I have been 'surfing since 2007. My name is Thomas and I grew up in the Upper Midwest. I played hockey and took sauna on the reg. Studied history and philosophy at U. Wisconsin-Madison, studied in England for a year, after which I became disenchanted with school. and starting writing songs.

Spent the next five or so years after graduating in 2008 writing and recording lyrical folk songs about history and existentialism, based in Minneapolis, MN. There I met my life partner ("wife" sounds too traditional) and fellow songwriter Sarah; we did a somewhat spontaneous 3-month tour in Europe in 2010. The rest, as they say, is history.

I continue to work on music but have returned to UW-Madison to earn (in who knows how many years) a PhD in U.S. History. My research interests center around a few areas of 19th and 20th century history (new media; capitalism; environmental change; technology; knowledge production).

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I've surfed in Spain, Sweden, Norway, Italy, England, Northern Ireland, Ireland, France, Canada, and spots here and there throughout the United States. I've always had incredibly positive experiences.

Interests

I love to learn and enjoy conversing about all sorts of things (nature, history, science, art, communication, literature, language, technology), listening to all sorts of music, drinking coffee, eating food, and strolling the city streets.

• arts
• literature
• coffee
• sauna
• drinking
• technology
• traveling
• music
• hiking
• backpacking
• baseball
• soccer
• hockey
• history
• science
• rivers

Music, Movies, and Books

BOOKS--
The Great Gatsby, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Grapes of Wrath

TV SHOWS--
Seinfeld, The Simpsons, The Sopranos, The Office (UK)

MUSIC--
Bob Dylan, Nick Drake, Frank Zappa, Radiohead, Tom Waits, Townes van Zandt, Gram Parsons, Bon Iver

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Hiking the Nyack Trail in Glacier National Park.

Countries I’ve Visited

Brazil, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Honduras, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

England, United States