CURRENT MISSION

See as much of Europe and its peoples as I can while I'm still here, but not burn out in the process.

ABOUT ME

Easygoing but capable of being serious, loyal to friends, open-minded to new ideas, respectable of everyones' rights, moderately intelligent but often lacking in common sense, willing to compromise, often a little shy at first, always eager to learn. Also, my favorite color is red and I'm proud to be myopic (anatomically speaking, because studies have shown that people that read a lot are more likely to become myopic and do well in school).

PHILOSOPHY

Life has no meaning per say. All we can do is live for the sake of living, because anything else is a waste. And if you have to live, why not be happy in the meantime? I think everyone should strive to make themselves happy without negatively affecting others, and, if possible, try to leave the world better than how they found it.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I'm a CouchSurfing virgin.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I'm a CouchSurfing virgin.

Interests

Wikipedia is my bible. Although I'm American, I'm not into American football or basketball at all; more into regular football but not a huge sports fan. I'm also not very religious. I thoroughly enjoy going to exotic places and meeting new people. My most time-consuming hobby is something called quiz bowl, which involves writing and answering questions about history, literature, science, mythology and philosophy. I'm a chemical engineer currently working for SGL Carbon-Meitingen.

• culture
• writing
• literature
• coloring
• hiking
• sports
• basketball
• american football
• soccer
• engineering
• history
• science

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: Spirited Away (and everything else by Miyazaki), comedies, dramas, I'll watch pretty much anything.

Classical music: anything by Antonin Dvorak or Johannes Brahms, and most anything by Amadeus Mozart and Heitor Villa Lobos.

Non classical: Adele, The Beatles, Taylor Swift.

Books: Cry, the Beloved Country, The Windup-Bird Chronicle, anything mythological, H.H. Munro short stories

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Once a friend and I were hiking in the Alps and we were stupid enough to try hiking near nightfall. After it became too dark to continue hiking, we had to spend the night on the trail and move big rocks to keep from freezing to death. Needless to say we learned our lesson.

Another time, two friends and I were hiking up a large hill/small mountain in La Serena, Chile. Once we got to the top, the Sun was just over a harbor of the ocean, and the combined picture of the sparkling Pacific and the illuminated Millennium Cross in nearby Coquimbo was one of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen.

Teach, Learn, Share

Obviously things like knowing how to get around via train in Germany aren't going to benefit everyone everywhere. For the most part, I believe the subject where all of us stand to gain by immersing ourselves in a foreign culture is philosophy; that meeting and talking to people from other cultures - getting there opinions and looking at things from their points of view - is the best way to better ourselves. On a side note, I guess more of an "esoteric" aside, I really want to go to Barcelona to see Gaudi's La Sagrada Familia, Copenhagen to see the palace, gardens and Little Mermaid statue, Prague to see Wencenslaus square and Florence to see the remnants of Ostrogothic society, Ghiberti's Florence Baptistry and the sculptures of Donatello and Michaelangelo, so I can tell my friends about them.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Canada, Chile, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Chile, Germany, United States