CURRENT MISSION

Touring the parts of the globe we've always wanted to visit.

ABOUT ME

We're a married US man and a Taiwanese woman out to explore the world together. Mark bodyboards, skis better than he snowboards, and finds immense enjoyment in getting places by bicycle, especially if it's modified with a passenger seat for Jacy. Jacy has an eye for beauty and a refined taste coupled with a solid background in hard work and fugality and manages to keep Mark on track most of the time.

We've recently returned from a year-long tour of Europe and Asia. Couchsurfing was an integral part of our trip and the experience was entirely positive.

PHILOSOPHY

You can't change the behaviour of others, you can't change who and what you are at heart, and often you can't even change the circumstances of your situation, you can only change how you think about and percieve all these things.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

We have couchsurfed with numerous other couples, doing what we can to share our way of life with them and participate in theirs. In the future we hope to have a place where we can actually host couchsurfers once again.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

We've hosted friends and family in a series of tiny single-bedroom but multi-couch/futon apartments. We've slept on couches, bunks, back seats, and in a beat-up old RV.

Interests

We're interested in regional reading, early visits to touristy sites, the occasional visit to an interesting club or disco. Mark prefers outdoors pursuits like skiing, hiking, biking, and surfing when possible. Jacy prefers visits to cities and the numerous diversions they offer.

• design
• graphic design
• fashion
• beauty
• cooking
• clubbing
• reading
• piano
• trumpet
• outdoor activities
• cycling
• hiking
• backpacking
• surfing
• skiing
• track and field
• animation
• engineering

Music, Movies, and Books

Mark likes science fiction, specifically by Orson Scott Card. He also likes classical fiction to a lesser extent. He enjoys reading but rarely finds time to finish a book anymore. He wrote this speaking in the third person and found that really weird. Mark dislikes most nonfiction like terminally boring guidbooks and subsequentially usually has no idea where he is going or what he is supposed to do to get there.

Jacy likes reading anything written in Mandarin, but such works are hard to come by in many parts of the world. She does not dislike nonfiction as much as Mark. She doesn't like romantic movies.

We both enjoy reading light Manga (Like Yotsuba) though Mark can only understand English translations.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Mark - Surfed a 18 foot wave at the Ventura Overhead.

Jacy - Carried a backpack 1/2 her own bodyweight across Europe.

Mark & Jacy - Sheltered behind a lifeguard tower about to take flight in 60 mph Santa-Anna winds after nearly getting caught in the 2007 Malibu fire. We just wanted to go stargazing.

Teach, Learn, Share

Mark's Skillset:
- Aerospace Engineering Principles
- Pyrotechnics (powder fusing and basic safety for small-scale fireworks shows, solid rocket motor tests, and other similiar applications)

Jacy's Skills:
- Fashion design/garment construction/seamstress.
- Graphic Design(Photoshop, Illustrator)
- Piano, Trumpet
- Cooking (Basic Mandarin Cuisine)

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Cambodia, China, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Maldives, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand

Countries I’ve Lived In

Taiwan, United States