If you drive a few hours north from my place in Boston, you'll find the White Mountains, one of my favorite places on earth to hike. You meet wonderful people in the mountains; tough-as-nails retired couples, college buddies reuniting after years apart, thru-hikers 1800 miles into the Appalachian Trail. Everyone is friendly and respectful and independent. I like to stay in the tent shelters because you can sit down as you're waiting for your water to boil and hear people's stories.

At the top of Mount Washington, the tallest peak, there's a parking lot and an observation deck and a cafe full of people who are primarily occupied with taking selfies and complaining about the cleanliness of the bathrooms.

Tourists aren't bad people; it's just that they don't have the same appreciation for the majesty of the mountains around them because they didn't need to climb them to get to where they stand. My goal is to live in such a way that I always appreciate the mountains.

I like to live simply, travel lightly, and explore places on foot. I try not to set expectations about experiences. I find great joy in the small, unremarkable things. I like knowing the history behind things, and learning about the quirks of different cultures. I really enjoy taking public transit.

I left my day job a few months ago, and I'm working on a natural language processing app for Mac computers. It didn't meet it's goal on Kickstarter but I'm going to keep working on it. I love the freedom that comes from self-employment, and I want to make the most of it.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

When I stay in hostels, I only meet other travelers. I want to meet people who will, at the very least, give me the names of a few pleasant walks, tell me an interesting story or two, and let me buy them a beer or a cup of coffee. I don't need much to be happy and comfortable, and I'm always looking for new adventures.

Interests

Rock climbing, hiking, skiing, traveling, camping, cycling, hanging out at the beach, human-computer interaction, religion, design

• design
• beer
• coffee
• walking
• traveling
• socializing
• cycling
• hiking
• camping
• skiing
• rock climbing
• history
• religion
• software
• beaches
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

My musical tastes change frequently. Right now I'm enjoying a Pandora mix of The Oh Hellos, Seabear, and I'm From Barcelona.

My favorite movie of all time is The Incredibles. I haven't seen much lately but I really enjoyed Kingsmen.

I don't read as much as I'd like to. Books that have shaped me: Walden (Thoreau), The Heavenly Man (Yun), The Abolition of Man (Lewis), Anthem (Rand)

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I found a market in Barcelona, and I picked up some lunch. I looked over the subway map saw that it had funicular, which looked cool. I took it, wandered through a cool neighborhood, and then kept walking up the mountain. At the top, I found an old-fashioned theme park with an old church at the top of it. I ate my lunch from the steps, looking out over the whole city.

I'm still not sure what it was called, but I don't really want to look it up.

Teach, Learn, Share

Happy to help anyone practice English, of course! I also love helping people learn to make software - web, mobile, Mac, database stuff. If you really needed it and asked nicely, I could even help fix some simple computer problems.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I'm looking to have cool experiences, not see sights. I'm happy to take plenty of time and chat over beers. I'm certainly not the most well-traveled person in the world, but I love to chat about pretty much anything.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Spain, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States