CURRENT MISSION

I have an impossible dream to live everywhere once and learn every language

ABOUT ME

I'm currently working finishing a TEFL certification course here in Prague. Prior to coming here I was substitute teaching back home the US. After this course I'm heading back home for a short bit and subsequently, heading abroad again, perhaps.

Until January of this year(2014) I was an English Teacher in Novosibirsk, Russia for the year, I had wanted to explore Russia country for a while and that was my opportunity to do so.

Who knows where I'll be headed next! Below is my background from previous years. It all remains relevant, I'm just lazy to go back and alter it all.

Where to start....well, I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Armenia pretty which much sums up what I was up to from May 2008 til August 2010 prior to returning to Amherst, Mass. I was an environmental education volunteer there, but I also taught english, and worked at many summer camps including green camps and an international student forum camp working with a number of different organizations.

Then I was a Master's of Education student at the Center for International Education at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. I focused my research efforts/interests to education and learning in zoos, with connected interests in zoos in the post-soviet context. My thesis focused on a literature review of zoos and education and with a discussion of why this is important and relevant to the field of International and Comparative Education.

Previous to Peace Corps. I was teaching children at the Museum of Science in Boston, and previous to that I studied a combination of anthropology, pyschology, philosophy and entomology at UMASS Amherst under bachelor's degree with individual concentration program. My major was titled Insect and Human Society and Thought. Still confusing? yeah...i get that, ask me to explain it more some time. :)

Among the experiences in my life which I've considered to be formative to who I am are a year in Germany as an exchange student from 2000 to 2001 (well, 11 months and 22 days, but who's counting....), a year of domestic exchange at the University of Hawaii in Manoa, numerous summers as a volunteer at the Roger Williams' Park Zoo Zoocamp during high school, my current experiences in Armenia and, extremely important, growing up with my brother Will (we're fraternal twins). Certainly many other experiences small and large have also contributed to who I am at the moment, but the above are those that really stick out in my mind as turning points in my life. As it is, I firmly believe that the creation and identity of one self is an ongoing never ending process somewhere at the conjunction of experiences, history, choice and continual self-examination.

Honestly, there are a million more things large and small that I could include in here to describe myself, but I would rather you discover those and who I am through actual interaction and discussion...might add more things here later if I think of something.

Oh, I like ants.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I plan to couch surf and watch out for land sharks.

Also plan to host surfers. I have a rock in my apartment to keep away land sharks, how does it work? well, there arent any land sharks in my apartment, so it must be working.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Since I joined CS I have surfed a couch in Georgia (the same one thrice, as we have become close friends :) ) and the couches of close friends in Lithuania and Poland. I have hosted probably more than 4 times as many people compared to couches that I have surfed. My hosting experience was while a Peace Corps volunteer in Gyumri, Armenia. I have yet to host in the US but, I miss hosting and I look forward to anyone interested in a place for the night, good cooking and relaxing conversation.

Interests

entomology, psychology, philosophy, history, anthropology, culture, languages, countries, cultures, foods, dinosaurs, cats, dogs, ferrets, snorkeling, swimming, listening, talking, writing, there are few things that I'm not interested in such as I dont like mushrooms (dunno why, just dont) and I dont like to dance (mostly because I dont think I can dance well at all and I'm self-conscious about it).

• cats
• dogs
• culture
• writing
• literature
• dancing
• education
• cooking
• camping
• snorkeling
• swimming
• anthropology
• teaching
• entomology
• history
• languages
• psychology
• science
• volunteering

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

hmm, I'll never forget jumping off a 22 foot waterfall on Kaua'i to begin my 21st birthday.....but that's probably not the most amazing thing I've done.

Teach, Learn, Share

Well, I can tell you more than youd probably ever want to know about ants...though if you want to know, they are, indeed, extremely interesting.

As far as learning, I'm always trying to pick up new languages, even if only pieces of them. I left Armenia speaking the language at an advanced level and still do, as well as with a smattering of Polish, in Russia currently I'm obviously trying to pick up the language. Frankly I understand far more of it than I currently speak. Still working on it! :)

Countries I’ve Visited

France, Georgia, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Virgin Islands, U.S.

Countries I’ve Lived In

Armenia, Germany, Russian Federation, United States

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