Hi! I’m David: a curious traveler, proud dad, Lindy Hopper (swing dancing), and co-founder of a travel tech startup. This year, my family and I are embarking on a 14-month world adventure. It’s a dream come true, and we’re grateful for every day of this journey.

I’m traveling with my partner, Kim, and our two kids, Maxwell (13) and Olivia (12). We’re open-minded and low-maintenance: we each travel with our own sleeping mat, sleeping bag, and pillow. We value connection, culture, and new experiences.

Fifteen years ago, Kim and I traveled around the world for a year, and Couchsurfing was at the heart of that journey. We met incredible people, shared meals and stories, and saw places through local eyes. Now, we’re excited to create new memories, this time with our kids!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

We’re not just looking for places to sleep. We’re looking for meaningful connections and opportunities to understand other cultures. Couchsurfing helps us meet people we wouldn’t otherwise cross paths with (in places we might not otherwise visit), and for our kids, that’s the most valuable part of this trip.

We want them to experience the world as a place full of kind, generous, diverse people. We also want them to learn what it means to be a good guest. Staying in someone’s home, helping out, talking over dinner...these little moments are the ones that stick.

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING
On our first trip 15 years ago, Kim and I stayed with hosts in more than a dozen countries. Now, we’re returning as a family and hope to pay it forward by sharing our energy, skills, curiosity, and gratitude. Over the years, our house has also been a revolving door for travelers, via Couchsurfing, the Lindy Hop community, and many friends-of-friends. When we return to San Francisco, we’d love to host you!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE
We have many fond CSing experiences and memories, ranging from getting amazing, cheap ceviche from a hole-in-the-wall joint in Peru with our first ever host, Marco, to going to a night-before-a-wedding celebration in Cairo with Mohamed!

Interests

As a family, we’re into:
• Exploring food, local traditions, and learning how other people live
• Playing and listening to music (our kids play saxophones, clarinet, and piano)
• Dancing Lindy Hop (yes, even the kids!)
• Hiking, swimming, sports, and being outdoors
• Board games and card games
• Reading, photography, video, and making art

• theater
• dancing
• tango
• cooking
• breakfast
• exercise
• reading
• traveling
• juggling
• magic
• music
• live music
• jazz
• hiking
• scuba diving
• skiing
• sports
• baseball
• parks
• food
• lindy hop

Music, Movies, and Books

Our tastes are eclectic. Some music we love includes jazz (especially Oscar Peterson, Gene Harris, Count Basie, and Duke Ellington, and anything that swing), as well as Jack Johnson, Michael Franti, The Beatles, and Simon & Garfunkel.

Favorite classic movies: Dead Poets Society, The Shawshank Redemption, Pulp Fiction, The Godfather, When Harry Met Sally
Favorite family movies: Inside Out, Knives Out (and other whodunnits), Hamilton, and Star Wars
TV favorites: The West Wing, The Wire, Andor, Yellowstone, The Handmaid’s Tale, Breaking Bad, The Sopranos, Stranger Things, Succession, The Office, Mad Men, Curb Your Enthusiasm

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Our year-long trip around the world in 2010–2011 was filled with one adventure after another: from hiking the Inca Trail in Peru, to tracking gorillas in Uganda, to teaching a jazz line dance to kids in a small village in Uganda, to visiting Kim’s 93-year-old grandmother in a tiny village in Vietnam. We’re so grateful and fortunate to do it again, this time with our kids.

Another adventure we are proud of is the whole family experiencing Burning Man for three years. Something that not everybody knows: Burning Man is a magical place for kids. We embrace all the 10 principals, such as radical self-expression, radical inclusion, gifting, participation, and more. The kids get to see all sorts of incredible creativity. It is a lot of work, but well worth it!

Teach, Learn, Share

We’d love to teach you a few Lindy Hop (swing dance) steps! We also hope to cook together and learn about local cuisine, especially healthy, home-style meals.

I’m also the President of Hostfully, a vacation rental software company, and I’d be more than happy to help you create a beautiful digital guidebook for your home. It can include directions and welcome info, house rules, and your favorite local recommendations; something you can share with future guests (both the guidebook and my time are free, of course).

What I Can Share with Hosts

• A respectful, curious, and grateful family
• Dance lessons, good conversation, and help around the kitchen
• Our kids’ enthusiasm and creativity; they love engaging with new people and places
• Help creating a beautiful digital guidebook for your future guests
• Tech help for your guest rental or vacation home, if that’s something you offer

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Mexico, Netherlands, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Rwanda, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, United Kingdom, Vatican City State, Viet Nam

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