CURRENT MISSION

learn to play the harmonica

ABOUT ME

I'm from southern Louisiana (Metairie, to be precise; 10 minutes out of New Orleans). Went to university in Chicago (math & classics), studied abroad in Rome, and after graduating returned to Europe for 6 months to do volunteer farming in Tuscany, southern France, and Switzerland. I absolutely fell in love with traveling, foreign languages, foreign people, foreign food, everything.

I'm very laid back & easy going, pretty quiet at first but won't shut up once you get to know me. I like to party occasionally, but I usually prefer talking one-on-one or in small groups, whether at someone's home or in a quiet café or pub. When I'm in new cities, I tend to do very limited tourist stuff in favor of wandering around aimlessly, talking to strangers, and discovering hole-in-the-wall beer bars, book stores, antique shops, ethnic restaurants, etc.

I'm proud of my hometown, New Orleans, but for now my plan is to inhabit the world: discover new places, people, languages, food, passions, and possibilities. Next stop in this quest is Montreal. (Update: After 6 years in Montreal, I have finished my PhD in linguistics and am currently a postdoctoral researcher in Jerusalem at the Hebrew University.)

PHILOSOPHY

"Man lernt nichts kennen, als was man liebt, und je tiefer und vollständiger die Kenntnis werden soll, desto stärker, kräftiger und lebendiger muß Liebe, ja Leidenschaft sein."
-- Goethe

("Man comes to know only what he loves, and the deeper and more complete the knowledge becomes, the stronger, the more powerful, and the more alive the love -- indeed the passion -- must be.")

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I like going to meetings and eating food. Sometimes even at the same time.

I've only surfed two (awesome) couches, but I try to go to CS events and meet random travelers passing through Montreal. If you're in town, send me a message.

I've also organized a couple Italian language meetings, so if you're interested in coming, just contact me.

Interests

languages, linguistics, brewing beer, drinking beer, math, volunteer farming, exercise, chess, coffee, water, ancient astronomy, compost, swimming in nature, fishing, running, the Simpsons, hammocks, hiking, getting lost, Trail Mix, goat herding, and probably a few more things.

• humanities
• books
• dining
• beer
• coffee
• exercise
• running
• partying
• drinking
• pub crawls
• chess
• traveling
• homebrewing
• fishing
• hiking
• swimming
• astronomy
• languages
• mathematics
• volunteering

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: old (like '20s-'30s), traditional American Blues (Delta, Chicago) and Jazz (esp. New Orleans); '60s-'70s psychedelic and progressive rock; '80s indie rock; new African (especially Malian) music. To name a few: Charley Patton, Robert Johnson, Mississippi John Hurt, Son House, Louis Armstrong, Kid Ory, the New Trolls, King Crimson, Yes, Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Pavement, Tool, ...

Books: dictionaries & grammars (no, seriously); Vonnegut & Hemmingway; history of math/science books

Movies: anything mind-blowing, e.g. "Donnie Darko"; anything with Bill Murray

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

fall asleep under the open Tuscan sky, skinny dip off the coast of Tunisia, make fresh apple juice by hand in Switzerland, drink beer in Belgium! ...

Teach, Learn, Share

If you have some basic equipment, I can teach you to make Cajun jambalaya and gumbo.

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Liechtenstein, Netherlands, Switzerland, Tunisia, United States, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, Israel, Italy, Switzerland, United States

•