CURRENT MISSION

unconvert the ex-heathens

ABOUT ME

I'm an ex-expat, who returned to the US to begin the rest of his days in academia. I hope to resume life abroad (a re-ex-patriation?) somewhere interesting (Spain, Berlin, Beirut, whatever) in a few years, upon completion of a degree. In the meantime-! I research & write, point cameras at things, cultivate rewarding people, attempt to foster amusing conversation at all times, and keep an eye out for individuals and situations bearing the imprint of the whimsical and the absurd.

Perché sono iscritto su Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

hosting, surfing--the usual

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I've had nothing but exemplary experiences at the hands of gracious and interesting hosts. I've woken up to live jazz piano wafting in from the living room in Arnavutkoy, Istanbul; been feted at parties full of people I'd never met, in Montreal; and other doubtlessly singular experiences I'm not recalling at the moment, ha.

Interessi

(written, pictorial, filmic) texts of any sort that explore the region where what can be represented, gives way to what cannot; the way urban and religious systems reproduce themselves on the mind; the notion that the rational and the intuitive bear unglimpsed and deep-seated resemblances (ooo, we're getting a little gnostic now--okay, for levity), volunteering, playing with cats, mid-20th century American and French jazz, intimate nooks in urban spaces, cooking indian cuisine, hiking, wine drunk outdoors in balmy weather

• cats
• cooking
• wine
• partying
• jazz
• piano
• outdoor activities
• hiking
• surfing
• science
• volunteering

Musica, film e libri

My taste in media tends toward the sublime & the surreal, the gothic & the grotesque--like, for example, the films of Alex de la Iglesia and Alejandro Jodorovsky; the writings of Bruno Schulz, China Mieville and H.P. Lovecraft; and the illustrations of Zdzislaw Beksinski, James Jean, and Takato Yamamoto. Each in their own way is shimmeringly and exquisitely weird. Highly recommended!

Una cosa incredibile che ho fatto

being kidnapped by the Turkish mafia on a few occasions wasn't *amazing,* per se. I wouldn't call it strictly "amazing." Both instances were, oh, bewilderingly immersive. How's that?

Insegna, impara, condividi

Can teach how to: cook Indian curry, take a beautiful photograph, see the link between Hinduism and science-fiction.

Paesi che ho visitato

Belize, Bulgaria, Canada, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Mexico, Morocco, Spain, Switzerland, Tanzania, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom

Paesi in cui ho vissuto

Italy, Turkey, United States