CURRENT MISSION

To conquer Berlin

ABOUT ME

I am Canadian. I'm very easy going. I grew up in a small city/big town, but I am quickly becoming falling in the love with the big city. I love culture and watching how people interact. I am a student of the world.

PHILOSOPHY

I am still figuring this one out....

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I am always willing to lend a helping hand. Many people have helped me out in my travels, and I am always open to returning the favor.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I will share with you my first and most memorable couchsurfing experience:

I was traveling across the United States in my little red Volkswagen Jetta. I wanted to go to New York, but I had little idea of where to stay or what I was going to do, but all I knew is that I wanted to drive over the George Washington Bridge.

I arrived in Manhattan at 1:30pm. I found a parking spot at 3:00pm....do the math! So I abandoned my car in the Upper East Sideon 93rd street. I tried to cover up all of my worldly possessions (bike, guitar, etc), but knew that it was futile, and I had to accept whatever happened to it. (Luckily nothing bad happened)

So I made my way down to the village to catch Kurt Rosenwinkel playing a show with his trio. I sat down at the closest seat to the stage, but it was communal seating, so I ended up sitting next to a spanish dude, and a guy from the deep south. With more than an hour until the downbeat, there was sure to be conversation.

As it turns out, both of these guys were doing post-doctoral studies at Columbia University working on a cure for type 2 Diabetes. So basically they're geniuses. So it turns out both of them of really big jazz fans and we talk until the show starts. After the show, they tell me about this party at their school every Friday night, and I should come by. I told them I would love to, but I didn't have a place to stay. Before I could get another word in, the guy from Mississippi offered his couch to me. I was at first slightly reluctant, because I'd never couch surfed before, but on second thought, it figured it's a place to stay, and he seemed like a nice enough guy.

So Friday rolls along and I meet him up at 180th st. at Columbia. As it turns out this "party" is an exclusive rooftop party for only Columbia lab students. So I did my best to fit into their science talk. Afterwards, we headed down to the Lower East Side to go bar-hopping. What I didn't tell them, was that I was only 19 and obviously not legal to drink in the states. But again, my friend came to my rescue, and lent me an old I.D. Miraculously, it worked in every bar we went into. We ended up going to an after hours place, and partying until the sun came up. By 6 AM, we headed back to Brooklyn, and he stayed true to his word. He gave me an awesome couch to sleep on in my own private room! The next day, I bought him breakfast, and thanked him for all of his help. I could not believe how sincere and helping he was towards a complete stranger. This experience has definitely changed the way that I relate to people I don't know. Now, I will always do my best to help people in need, and not worry about if I know them or not.

I ended up writing a song, and naming it after the guy that helped me. I don't know if we'll ever cross paths again, but he has inspired me to be a better human being. Thanks Jamie!!

Interests

Music
Languages
Books
Trials biking
Running
Philosophy
Driving
Art
Coffee
Beer
Wine

• arts
• culture
• writing
• books
• singing
• breakfast
• wine
• beer
• coffee
• running
• partying
• drinking
• traveling
• music
• jazz
• guitar
• cycling
• swimming
• languages
• law
• mathematics
• science

Music, Movies, and Books

Favourite books:

-The Alchemist (Paul Coelho)
-Siddhartha (and any other Herman Hesse)
-The Music Lesson (Victor Wooten)
-The Advancing Guitarist (Mick Goodrick)
-Ishmael (Daniel Quinn)
-Any Ralph Waldo Emerson
-Breakfast of Champions (and any other Kurt Vonnegut)

Music:

I enjoy all styles of music, especially if they are played at a high level. I studied jazz music at university, but it has led me to everything else. funk, rap, bluesgrass, folk, electronica, indie rock, etc.

Currently, some of my favorite musicians are:

Chris Thile
Kurt Rosenwinkel
Sufjan Stevens
Mos Def
Feist
Laura Marling
Apparat
Booka Shade
The Avett Brothers
St. Vincent
Peter Fox
Ricky Skaggs

Favourite Artists:

Van Gogh, Dali, Monet, Kandinsky, Frederick Church, Lawren Harris, Picasso, Matisse

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Watched the sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean after driving for 14 hours and sleeping in my car. I spent the whole day on the coast swimming in the ocean, and biking on the rocks. Pure ecstasy!

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach you how to play/sing a song.

I always like learning phrases and words from new languages. I am currently trying to learn German.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, China, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland, Turkey, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada

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