CURRENT MISSION

Explore our buns off

ABOUT ME

I'd consider myself a friendly midwesterner. My wife Jen is probably the best person I've met. I've become much more of an outdoorsman than I ever thought. We enjoy hikes, snowboarding, and climbing to name a few. Sustainability has become a new area of interest as well. One of my favorite things about living in our new city of Madison is riding my bike everywhere!!! Jen loves the fact that she gets paid to do what she loves in her PhD program.

Interesting facts: excellent trumpet player, suffered 3 wrist breaks (all from snowboarding), can obsess over a project/hobby with the best of them

Future goals: find a career move that works, supporting my wife, have kids, ride my bike all over the place

PHILOSOPHY

It is I am; do not be afraid.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

We love creating relationships with others who are dedicated to a shared human experience. We'd much rather create new, meaningful connections with others rather than isolate ourselves in a hotel room.

Our main concern is the safety and respect of those involved in the CS experience. Hopefully we can learn at least one thing about someone else and ourselves in each CS exchange. If we can walk away from a host and feel that we've made a positive difference in our host's life, we've accomplished our goal.

My wife and I love to reciprocate the generosity of our hosts. You might find random food items in your fridge/pantry, and we like to take others out to dinner if possible.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Thus far our CS experiences are 100% positive at both the surfing and hosting level.

Interests

coffee, beer, electronics, problem solving, Native American culture, Joseph Campbell, meeting new people, biking

• arts
• culture
• dining
• beer
• coffee
• electronics
• music
• trumpet
• cycling
• hiking
• surfing
• snowboarding
• rock climbing
• teaching
• parks

Music, Movies, and Books

Film: Cave of Forgotten Dreams, Wasteland, Good Will Hunting, Most things Wes Anderson and Tim Burton

On my radio: The National, St. Vincent, Neutral Milk Hotel, Beirut
Permanent music: Tool, Chopin, Beethoven, Debussy

Books: Walden, The Hunger Games

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

The wife and I took a 30 day road trip through the southwest US, all the way up the California coast to Seattle, and looped back around to Kansas City. In total, we camped 24 nights, visited 11 national parks and put 7,000 miles on the civic. What an experience!

Michelagelo's Pieta was also unforgettable.

visited 38 states (76%)Create your own visited map of The United States or another interesting project

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach music, core content areas, and most of all, literacy. Given my profession as a teacher, my big focus is on asking the big questions. I love making connections between two seemingly unrelated ideas. Jen can teach you how to listen and be a lifelong friend.

I love to learn just about anything, particularly in the arts and sciences.

Countries I’ve Visited

France, Italy, Spain, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States

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