CURRENT MISSION

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ABOUT ME

How I got here: I quit my IT job in Chicago, bought a ticket to Berlin, and endeavored to learn the German language well enough to study for my Masters there. After a month, the wanderlust took over, so I bought a bike and took off, with the goal to ride to the Adriatic. Got stopped in Slovakia, started teaching English to kids. Moved on to Kazakhstan after that, then back to Chicago, continuing to pursue the ESL dream. I moved back in Germany in pursuit of that Masters degree that eluded me the first time, spent 5 months in Russia, and now I'm in Houston, Texas.

Couchsurfing has a lot to do with why I'm here, and why I no longer spend 45 hours a week sitting in a cubicle, and I'll be forever thankful for that.

Sober since June 2011.

PHILOSOPHY

Life is digging up a pile of dirt, showing it to somebody, and then shoveling it back into a hole.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Hosted three times in Kazakhstan and Poland, and a bunch of times in Chicago. Now hosting every once in awhile in Cologne.

FYI - If you don't have a complete profile or send me a one line request, I will not respond and I will not host you. Couchsurfing should not just be a free place hostel site.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Couchsurfed across Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Ukraine, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Iceland. Had my first pair of couchsurfers ever in February 2010, while I was living in Kazakhstan. Had a bunch more in Chicago, in my big 3 bedroom in Bucktown. Never had a bad experience.

Interests

History and modern international politics, economics, linguistics, everything that relates to how people function in their daily lives.

• perfumes
• dining
• politics
• cycling
• economics
• history

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

When I was 17, I spent 3 days outside in the Ohio forest with two of my friends. We brought nothing except a magnesium strip to start a fire, and a water purification bottle, in an effort to simulate what it would be like to survive a plane crash in the wilderness. We had been planning to do this for a while, but we waited until the first weekend in November, which meant that when we arrived it was around 40 degrees (Fahrenheit). That wouldn't have been too terrible, but then it started to rain. We spent the next 3 days wet and chilled straight through, the fire we lit early in the morning of the second day was the only thing that kept us going. No food for three days, and very little water. It was fantastic.

Teach, Learn, Share

visited 27 states (12%)Create your own visited map of The World

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Ukraine, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Germany, Kazakhstan, Slovakia, United States

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