I grew up in the Hudson Valley and New York City. I did a lot of sports like cross country running, wrestling, and pole vaulting. My high school physics class built a solar car we raced around the world.

My first degree is from a liberal arts program, University Without Walls. I basically studied abroad every semester. After 9/11, I joined the Navy and trained as a corpsman (medic).

I was able to become a Registered Nurse, but also suffered a TBI and was medically retired. After learning to function again, I spent several years following the weather around the USA in a camper van. I did the National Park circuit and saw a lot of museums. I wrote a book about it: "USA on $10K! How to Live in a Van and Travel America."

Van life got a bit lonely and hard. I started spending winters abroad. I saw a lot of the Pacific Rim and a bit of Europe and South America. In total, I guess I have been to about 50 countries. My second book about expat life is, “USA No Way! How to Get Out & Stay Out." A bit salty, but I did write it during Covid lockdowns at my beach place in Mexico.

I'm back in grad school working on my Masters in public health. The working title for my third book is, "USA Big Baby! How to Not Kill Yourself Being a Fat Jerk." The title is intentionally provocative. I am addressing two pandemics: the obesity and mental health crises. More specifically, I'm focused on the veteran community through the lens of my own injuries and recovery.

Other interesting stuff:

I'm a twin. My sister and I did some modeling and acting in NYC. Helped pay for a black belt in karate.

My parents were teachers at West Point and East Side High. The latter was such a bad school Hollywood made a movie about it “Lean on Me.” My dad is in the film.

I gave up my beach home on the Pacific Coast of Mexico. My golf clubs, surfboard, and guitar are still down there. Idk, if I’ll ever make it back.

I've lived in 40 or so of the top 100 most populous world cities. I can fly free on military hops and with a major carrier (my family works for United). I can potentially share this benefit with a travel partner.

My future spouse and kids can get free college and healthcare (ladies he’s single!). I gave up on having a family. Not really compatible with travel.

I guess my favorite hobbies are sightseeing and recreation. I like going to museums, historic homes, zoos, gardens, waterfalls, viewpoints, etc. I occasionally scuba dive, surf, hunt, fish, canoe, hike, and drive motorcycles/mopeds.

I like making travel videos about each place I go. This started as a way to retrain my brain. Videography really helps me concentrate, process, and remember the places I visit.

I had some success as a YouTuber, but ran into copyright issues. I don’t have the energy, nor tech skills, to edit anything. My Instagram is still active with a large following: TimbuktubeOfficial.

I am only fluent in English. I studied Latin and Greek in school. I do have a small survival vocabulary in several languages: Spanish/Italian, Portuguese, Swahili, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Laotian/Thai.

I fool around on Duolingo. Mostly practicing basic Spanish. I can play a few songs on guitar.

The quickest way to message me is on WhatsApp.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Hangout, chill, meet new people, make friends (if even for a few days). Free accommodations (not gonna lie). Share knowledge and experiences with like minded people.

CS has come through for impromptu hiking groups, road trips, room exchanges, rentals, etc. Most often it is comforting just to have a local contact. I'm fine with meeting for coffee or just texting.

Interests

Museums, Historic Homes, Zoos
National Parks, Waterfalls, Viewpoints, Gardens
Hiking, Camping, Backpacking, RVing, Road Trips
Movies, Documentaries, How To Vids
Exercise, Diet, Chess, Sim City
Surfing, Scuba, Free Diving, Golf
Hunting, Fishing, Fieldcraft
Guitar, Music, Languages

• documentaries
• exercise
• dieting
• movies
• chess
• music
• guitar
• fishing
• hiking
• backpacking
• camping
• hunting
• surfing
• scuba diving
• golf
• languages
• road trips
• bushcraft
• waterfalls
• national parks
• museums
• zoos
• botanical gardens
• viewpoints
• rving
• historic homes
• tutorials
• sim city
• fieldcraft

Music, Movies, and Books

Lonely Planet guidebooks (my Bible), audiobooks and digest of the New York Times, podcasts (NPR, iTunes University, YouTube tutorials), almost any documentaries, some dramas, various mini-series. Musically I like oldies, classic rock, some classical and opera, pop, jazz and regional/international music.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

My first degree was in a program called University Without Walls. I studied abroad every semester. Then made a multimedia thesis while volunteering in NYC public schools. Some of my programs included:

-Ancient Greek at Oxford University.
-Fine & Decorative Art appraisal at NYU.
-Politics at Charles University in Prague.
-Astrobiology at Biosphere 2 Center (Columbia Uni).
-Interning at the Embassy of Papua New Guinea (DC)
-Several programs in Mexico, Egypt, & Australia.
-Student film at Universal Studios in Los Angeles.
-Tracing steps of Ulysses around the Mediterranean.
-World Expo 2000 in Hanover, Germany.

At Expo2000, I visited every country's pavilion. So, I FEEL like I've been to all 200 countries. That’s my biggest travel hack. They hold world expos every ten years or so (same event as the World’s Fair, just a different name).

Noteworthy:

I was a “manny” for a few years in college. I bartended at night and daytime did childcare in exchange for a room in Manhattan. I cared for two adorable twin boys. I also volunteered in a Harlem elementary school running their chess club, student govt., and doing remedial tutoring.

Sideways:

I joined the US Navy and became a corpsman (medic) and RN. Got injured. Then worked in publishing industry before the Great Recession. When the market crashed, I decided to become a minimalist.

I lived in a camper van without running water, nor electricity. For years, I followed the weather and showered at gyms. That’s when I heard about CSing!

Silver Lining:

I've been pretty much everywhere in California, Rocky Mountains, Southwest, Texas, and South Florida. I've a little bit of the Pacific Northwest, Great Plains, and Southeastern US. But I’d love to make more road trips to these places. I’d love to RV around EU, AU, NZ. I just can’t handle the driving anymore! Self-driving cars please become affordable soon!

I’ve been fortunate to do a good deal of international travel. For awhile, I was spending winters in a new world city/region every year. Flying free and staying with family really helped.

Failed Attempts:

I got certified as a TEFL teacher right before China said no more remote English teachers and gutted the market.

Silver Lining:

I have multiple other certs/licenses in scuba, free diving, hunting, fishing, survival, fieldcraft, healthcare, and technology.

visited 31 states (62%)Create your own visited map of The United States or jurisdische veraling duits?

visited 20 states (8.88%)Create your own visited map of The World or website vertaling duits?

Teach, Learn, Share

-I sometimes post documentary videos online.
-I was an early investor in cryptocurrency, but mismanaged it. Duh!
-I learned to sell on Amazon in college. Mostly used books. Wish I transitioned to drop shipping Chinese imports!
-Check out Guru Maps app. It’s amazing! I call it my trail of breadcrumbs. Never get lost again!

What I Can Share with Hosts

Let’s talk about full time travel:
-Being an expat in different world cities.
-Minimalism, van life, and RVing.
-Wellness and living your best life.

Let’s figure out how to shoot the moon:
-Bitcoin & cryptocurrency!
-Non-revenue Travel/Budget Travel!
-Dating, relationships, existentialism.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Bermuda, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Egypt, England, France, French Polynesia, Germany, Greece, Guam, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Laos, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macao, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mexico, Micronesia, Federated States of, Monaco, Montserrat, Myanmar, Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Russian Federation, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Sao Tome and Principe, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State, Viet Nam, Virgin Islands, British, Virgin Islands, U.S.

Countries I’ve Lived In

Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Czech Republic, England, Guam, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Laos, Macao, Malaysia, Mexico, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Philippines, Portugal, Russian Federation, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United States

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