CURRENT MISSION

To write, read, travel and meet interesting and unusual people.

ABOUT ME

I'm an over 60 backpacker. My last trip was three and a half months, in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Previous to that, I was two months in Ecuador, including the Galapagos. I'm a published short story writer. I've lived in Taiwan and Hong Kong for a year at a time. I like reading history, literature, politics, travel writing, economics and a number of other subjects.

I love listening to people's stories, travel or otherwise. I like to hear about what people are reading and listening to. I want to know what they think of their countries, what their favorite foods are and I love hearing other people's sense of what's funny.

I'm a quiet but watchful person who's lived many lives and had experiences that run the gamut from the sublime to the horrendous. I've been a dancer, folk singer, special forces soldier, dishwasher, fry cook, ski bum, rock climber, legislative consultant, budget analyst, information technology analyst, husband and father among other things. I've worked at the Oregon Country Fair Pizza booth with some great people for the last two seasons. These experiences have given me a great appreciation for the diversity of life's beauties.

PHILOSOPHY

No one's ever said, "Gee, I wish I'd spent more time at the office," just before dying. I believe that life is nothing without dreams. My life has been the pursuit of dreams, the dream of writing stories, of parachuting out of a plane, trekking Patagonia, standing beneath the Hagia Sophia's dome, watching the Indian countryside go by from the door of a train, watching the stars from the deck of an old sailing ship.

Por qué estoy en Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I'm willing to host up to 2 people at a time. I enjoy showing people a part of Oregon that they might not otherwise get to see, like the Columbia Gorge, Corvallis' river front park, local Salem hangouts, like The Governor's Cup Coffee House, or Clockworks where they can meet and talk with the locals.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I couch surfed before there was a CS organization, hitch hiking and sleeping on people's couches. You could say that I'm just starting out at this, again.

Intereses

I read a lot of literary fiction, non-fiction and history. I love going to good restaurants and trying new foods. I like hearing other people's life stories, including those about their travels.

• writing
• literature
• dancing
• cooking
• coffee
• running
• coach
• drinking
• politics
• technology
• reading
• traveling
• cycling
• hiking
• backpacking
• sailing
• skiing
• economics
• history
• military science

Música, películas y libros

Latest reads: Death in Venice, Middlemarch, The Brothers Karamozov, Silas Marner, The Death of Vishnu, City of Devi, Age of Shiva, Shosha, Bring Up the Bodies, The Unwinding, Welcome to the NHK, Reckless Endangerment, The Man Who Loved China, Ilustrado, Vernon God Little, Of Human Bondage, The Razor's Edge, The Big Short, A Voyage By Dhow, Brief Interviews With Hideous Men, The End of the Affair, Bright Sided, The Devil's Highway, AD 381, Tinkers, FDR, Brighton Rock, Palace Walk, The Girl With the Curious Hair, Brief Interviews With Hideous Men, Cleopatra, Renaissance Chainsaw.

Movies: Paris J'taime, Entre Nos, The Good Shepherd, Capitalism: A love story, The Asphalt Jungle, Sunset Boulevard, Yojimbo, Brazil, Night at the Opera.

Music: Balkan Beat Box, Pablo Casals, Thomas Quasthoff, Django Reinhardt, Baaba Maal.

I've also become an opera fan.

Algo increíble que he hecho

Shook Martin Luther King's hand.

Scared the living hell out of the Malaysian prime minister and a bunch of State Department types when Crazy Walsh and I set off larger than expected demolition charge at a special warfare demonstration area.

OK, more than one thing. Did the "Road of Death" on a mountain bike, trekked Torre del Paine in Patagonia, climbed Mt. Kinabalu. I once tried selling carpets with some new-found Turkish friends, in Marmaris. The tourists assumed I was a Turk who spoke very fluent English. The Turks just laughed themselves silly. We had a great time, drinking apple tea and talking.

Enseña, aprende, comparte

I've taught creative writing as writer in residence, at rural schools and towns, in Oregon and at the Fishtrap Summer Writers program. I've also been a personal weight training coach.

Países que he visitado

Argentina, Belgium, Bolivia, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Germany, Grenada, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Laos, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Peru, Philippines, Singapore, Slovakia, South Korea, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, Vatican City State, Viet Nam, Virgin Islands, British, Western Sahara

Países en los que he vivido

China, Taiwan, United States

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