CURRENT MISSION

Visit and document traditional music in every province in Indonesia!

ABOUT ME

I'm a Californian who moved to Indonesia seven (!) years ago and fell in love with the country (and my wife, Sinta, who's from Jogja!) I had studied gamelan in university, so my plan was to teach English while learning about the music here. And that's basically what I've done - for most of my time here, I've taught English and have turned my music hobby into a huge documentation project called Aural Archipelago (www.auralarchipelago.com, or you can check out the social media pages) that has taken me to every corner of the country. It's even taken me across the world as I've brought Indonesian folk musicians to perform in Europe and have given talks and lectures in Amsterdam, Australia, and Singapore.

The music thing is a HUGE obsession, but I have other hobbies - taking long walks around the neighborhood, exploring street food, collecting cassettes, playing obscure instruments, and wasting hours on the internet.

For most of my time in Indonesia (five+ years) I lived in Bandung, West Java, but for around a year now I've been living in my wife's hometown, Yogyakarta, as she gets her masters' degree here.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Since moving to Indonesia, I've couchsurfed in Singapore, Malaysia, Sumatra, Java, and Sulawesi, and have hosted a few times at my old home in Bandung as well. I'm always open to hosting more people - I've received so much hospitality in this country especially that I really feel a debt to give back!

Interests

Music - gamelan, kalimba, throat singing, drones, minimalism
Activities - playing music with friends, trying new foods, hiking, long bike rides, spending long hours learning random facts on Wikipedia.

• arts
• singing
• architecture
• drones
• traveling
• minimalism
• music
• piano
• cycling
• hiking
• geography
• food
• indie music
• traditional music
• indonesian music

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I've crashed traditional weddings on every major island in Indonesia! :D

Teach, Learn, Share

Teach: English, Indonesian, a few Indonesian instruments

Learn: About your home and its music, food, and culture!

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Bahamas, Belgium, Canada, China, Costa Rica, France, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Singapore, Sweden, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, United States

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