CURRENT MISSION

Understand the world in order to change it!

ABOUT ME

Confession: "My name is Andrew, and I am your friend."

My goal in life is to live and see and do and experience as much as possible. I've lived an interesting life of teaching, studying, traveling, working, all on my own calculated but slow and steady pace. I feel like a really experienced kid sometime.

I love going to new places and culture-shocking myself as possible.

It's important to get out of the United States sometimes. Not enough Americans do. I like to consider myself one of the lucky ones, some way, some how.

I'm a conversationalist and a nice, warm, trustworthy, ethical human being. I'm always working on myself in that regard.

I pay attention to the world, in all of its twists and turns. What a horrifying place it is. At the same time, what a beautiful place it is.

I'll tell you everything I know and share with you everything I have.

I'm really tall and I eat a lot. I think that that's because I'm tall.

I can be as shallow as a puddle and then go as deep as an ocean all in the flip of a switch. It's up to you how serious you want to be. If you want to stay light-hearted, I'm all for that! If you want to get metaphysical, political and philosophical, I'm game as well.

Music. Food. People. Laughter. Exercise. Brain stimulation. Caring. Loving. All of these things get me up and get me out of bed in the morning.

We can't stop living until it's all over. And it will be over eventually. So let's live today.

PHILOSOPHY

"Food first, then morals." - Bertolt Brecht

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Would love to cross/interchange/exchange/transmit/comprehend cultural connections and processes. I would love to meet you and tell you all about me. Then I'll probably ask you all about you.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Very little. I've hosted here and there. I've been on a few couches. It's time to change that.

Interests

Jiu-jitsu brasileiro, Introducing people to introductory things, Riding trains, Living foods, Raw foods, Hiking to waterfalls, Not supersizing me, Fresh-squeezed juice (sucomania!), Trusting people, Dolph Lundgren, Talking to you, Guacamole, Night Drives, Reading book reviews, Watching situations unfold, Mystery Science Theater 3000 and its quirky one-liners, Critical thinking, Sandwiches in Italy, Breathing deeply, Leglocks and their technical setups, Playing guitar and singing falsetto, my friend Jackie, moving to different countries, Listening to music on headphones, 180-gram vinyl, Teaching youth, Defamiliarization Strategies, Keeping in touch, Globalization, Cooking, Stretching for long periods of time, Being happy about eating and eating to be happy, Sweating and then showering with body soap, Fresh Salsa, Playing the role of "la flaneur," Making people laugh in unintentional ways.

• culture
• books
• singing
• theater
• dining
• cooking
• raw food
• exercise
• reading
• traveling
• music
• guitar
• hiking
• snorkeling
• science

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: The Evens, Last Season, Burn it Down, Weird War, Behemoth, Shotmaker, Endpoint, Prisoners of..., Blonde Redhead, Rainer Maria, Cat Power, The Beatles, Burnt by the Sun, Sigur Ros, Mia Doi Todd, Gza, Refused, Emperor, Mogwai, Embassy, Mum, Pinback, Broken Hearts are Blue, Still Life, Indian Summer, Joan of Arc, Maritime, Johnny Cash, Nile. Did I mention Blonde Redhead?, Dead Prez, Tristeza, Coalesce, Blur, Pearl Jam, The Make Up, Embrace, Q and Not U, Fugazi, The Fucking Champs, French Toast, 108, Beta Minus Mechanic, Yeahyeahyeahs, Rites of Spring, Iceburn, Acme, The Scene Creamers, Winfred e Eye, Prema, Bloodlet

Movies: The Incredible True Adventures of Two Girls in Love, Manos: the Hands of Fate, The Big Lebowski, Best in Show, The Smashing Machine, I am Sam, Rosa Luxemberg, Office Space, Bread and Roses, High Art, La Chinoise, Weekend, City of God, Run Lola Run, Fugazi/Instrument

Books: Nation of Rebels, The Culture of Fear, Lords of Chaos, 1984, Red Love, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: Theory and Technique, Dune, Geek Love, the Soul Vegetarian Cookbook, Crime and Punishment, What is to be Done?

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Snorkeling with sea turtles on the big island of Hawai'i.