CURRENT MISSION

Live and work outside of the US

ABOUT ME

I just graduated half a year ago with my bachelors and am incredibly excited to be able to travel around and teach. I work providing economics and writing support to college level students, which is a great way to stay in the world of interesting ideas while also traveling whenever students are not in class.

People usually describe me as chill, spontaneous, and excitable. I asked a friend for a description; this is what he came up with. It may actually say more about him than it does me.

“You join physicality with language by kind of dancing around the room in conjunction with your words.”

He also commented, “You seem much more social and urbane; it doesn't come across that you grew up, like, alone in the mountains.” (Alaska wasn't really alone in the mountains. I also had a husky.)

I currently live in a city designed for cars with very little green and/or non-paved surfaces, so I'm craving compact, walkable cities with grass, dirt (even if its frozen in December), and unplanned, biped-accessible urban space.

I am a vorciferous drinker of coffee, tea, beer and booze, like to break it on down whether it's contact improv, contra dancing, at a club, or trying to tango to Yo-Yo Ma (ended poorly). In the 48 hours after breaking it down, I usually require a cozy space to read a book, somewhere to take a slow walk, or a stove to cook a fancy pants meal on.

PHILOSOPHY

Hasn't been published yet.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Due to my current living situation I cannot host anyone, but I am happy to meet up in Abu Dhabi for dinner or a drink.

(Confusing point: I am using a proxy for research purposes so the couchsurfing site automatically puts my location as New York City rather than Abu Dhabi. Rest assured that I am in fact in Abu Dhabi.)

Interests

When traveling, I am more interested in using one particular lens to get into a place than doing a surface skim – recently, I've enjoyed getting to know the places I stay by learning how to cook/bake some of the more common breakfast meals. I love to learn new things, especially languages, and have a huge amount of respect for people who can speak multiple. I am musically inclined and love to play with others – I play the cello and am currently learning the banjo and fiddle. What else? I have a huge affinity for old things – churches, cathedrals, catacombs and the like – perhaps because I've spent most of my life living in places where most of the buildings are only a few decades old.

• writing
• books
• dancing
• tango
• cooking
• breakfast
• beer
• coffee
• yoga
• working out
• drinking
• clubbing
• traveling
• cars
• sports
• economics
• languages
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

Currently reading Melville's Moby Dick, Nabakov's The Defense, Friendship in the Ancient World by David Konstan, and Infinite Jest. When it comes to books I range from a serial monogamist to a polyamorist.

Other favs: Anne Carson, Annie Dillard, Joan Didion, Sarah Ruhl, Paula Vogal, Lyn Hejenian, Chuck Mee, Virginia Woolf, Louise Gluck, Salman Rushdie, Milan Kundera, Bugakov, Bruno Schulz.

Movies: Anything by Hayao Miyazak. I'll take suggestions. I grew up without a TV and never really caught up.

Music: pretty wide taste. I'm currently on a mean bluegrass/banjo streak.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Helping haul a log cabin piece by piece for a mile along game trails in Alaska so it could be re-assembled near a pond with a mountain view.

Teach, Learn, Share

Teach: I can teach cook a good meal from a bare pantry, take you through a yoga class, and explain something nonsensical about your city using economics. I can teach you the Arabic script, the basics of the cello, or how to build a good fire.

Learn: I'd love to learn a new instrument, new sport, or the basics of jewelry-working.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Peru, Sri Lanka, Turkey

Countries I’ve Lived In

United Arab Emirates, United States