CURRENT MISSION

I am trying to determine how I can best live my life using time abroad as a microcosm of what life has to offer.

ABOUT ME

I need to write more when I have the time and energy!

PHILOSOPHY

Coming soon...

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

While I cannot host, I hope to meet people in the local area and to meet people visiting Saigon. I am no expert on the best places to go or to see, though I can certainly do my best!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have not had much in the way of "couchsurfing" though I've served with AmeriCorps NCCC for 10 months with especially makeshift accommodations when responding to Hurricane Isaac in 2012. I was also an exchange student to Wroclaw, Poland with a mandated two host families throughout the year, 2006-2007.

Music, Movies, and Books

Oh, this question is the spoiler! I don't even have info on this on Facebook instead preferring my many carefully-chosen quotes. I like a lot of things, though the ones that have deeper meaning beyond the surface and profundity are those that I most value.
(Okay, I'll give you genres. Movies: philosophical psychological non-horror thrillers or ones of great aesthetic. Music: A very wide variety ranging from Rise Against with their lyrics dripping with pathos and meaning to a limited amount of pop to jazz to classical with the romantic period composers being my favorites. Books: Some non-fiction, especially concerning living a better life, political and philosophical works, and some coming-of-age stories.) :)

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

The most amazing thing that I have done has been to face myself. This difficulties of this are paramount to none.
The most amazing man-made thing I have seen has been the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France, whereas the most amazing natural thing is the peace stream known as "Spring Creek", set in a still wood.

Teach, Learn, Share

Right now, I am focusing on making my teaching and my Vietnamese (and Spanish on occasion) skills the best they can be. I am also trying to learn what can actually inspire the passion that dwells within to drive me in life to lead a life of compassion. That being said, I am also learning life skills, like punctuality, work-life balance, and not sweating the small stuff. That being said, I know that I still have much to learn, even beyond what I have just mentioned.

On other matters, I suppose I have a lot to teach, mostly by means of calm, compassionate understanding through discussion. "Esoteric knowledge" describes the way most of my knowledge works anyway, as I will often have a rare understanding or uncommon viewpoint on a given topic that interests me. Not many other people are math majors that then decide to go to Vietnam to teach English (I have an unusual interest in grammar) or state their religion on Facebook as "Roman Catholic Zen Buddhist" while fasting for Yom Kippur and considering going to the local mosque for prayer recently. Other topics of interest include the European Union, economics (and the two together!), political theory, art, psychology, theater, philosophy, what being human is about, "helping" others (while actually doing something about it!), and last but far from least, music!

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Bahamas, Belgium, Cambodia, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Monaco, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Switzerland, United States, Vatican City State, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Poland, United States, Viet Nam