CURRENT MISSION

2010: Learn and listen. Travel around the U.S.A..

Autumn 2021: Currently traveling around Africa, Europe and the Middle East for 55 days in September, October and November. Fully vaccinated here.

2022: Traveling to California, Minnesota, Canada, Chile, Argentina, Spain, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, and South Africa to visit friends, family, and colleagues.

ABOUT ME

"If I didn't define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people's fantasies for me and eaten alive."
- Audre Lorde

"Even after all this time the sun never says to the earth, 'you owe me.' Look what happens with a love like that, it lights the whole sky."
- Hafiz

I'm incredibly passionate about everything and everyone in my life. I like to start large projects with groups of people just for the sake of doing something (whether it be a series of conferences on Globalization, an art installation fest with colleagues at work or a rain garden in the middle of a polluted neighborhood). I've done some random things. While I believe in independence, I'm also a strong believer in interdependence and mutual-aid.

PHILOSOPHY

Listen and you'll learn more about yourself.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Hosting people in New Orleans (formerly in Oakland, D.C., Baltimore and Cincinnati), organizing pretty rad potlucks and all sorts of late-night mega awesome tomfoolery.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Truly on anywhere and everywhere for years. I've taken naps on piles and piles of oranges in Miami, Florida and naps on $30,000 sheets in D.C.

Interests

Economics, agroecology, bikes, food, d.i.y. culture, swimming, weightlifting, radical projects, live music of all sorts and kinds, Midwestern pleasantries, listening, storytelling, live music, journalism, photography, art, installations, long bike rides to anywhere and everywhere, gardening, sustainability, and learning new languages (French, Spanish and Arabic).

• arts
• culture
• photography
• dining
• cooking
• gardening
• music
• live music
• cycling
• swimming
• economics
• journalism
• languages

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: Transsiberian, Running Man, Die Hard II, 21Grams, East is East, Malcolm X, Volver, Caramel, Othello, Grindhouse, New Jack City, Godfather One, Godfather Two, 28 Days Later and The Color Purple.

Music: Elvis Costello, Les Surfs, Public Enemy, N.W.A., Peter Bjorn and John, The Pretenders, Johnny Cash, The Smiths, Bad Brains, Minor Threat, Of Montreal, Stevie Wonder, and James Brown. To be honest everything (especially in live or vinyl form).

Books: Imagined Communities, The God of Small Things, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Reading Lolita in Tehran, The Giving Tree, Interpreter of Maladies, Catcher in the Rye, Kyoko's House, Catch 22, Urban Guerrilla Protest, Things Fall Apart, Kitchen and Collected Stories (a collection of short stories by Gabriel Garcia Marquez).

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Anything I've done with someone I love or I've loved.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach you how to have fun, cook aloo mater and other delicious delights. I know a lot about facilitation, community development, political organizing, gardening, etc.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I'm passionate about learning through the eyes of locals. I bring my culture to share and would love to learn more about you and your culture.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Monaco, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States