CURRENT MISSION

the holy grail of course...

ABOUT ME

I was born with a healthy helping of the wanderlust that is characteristic of my family. We come from a long line of wanderers, and have done our best to live up to this wonderfully foolish definition.
I graduated in 2007 from the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington. The observer may notice there were some missing years between graduating high school and heading to the UW. Those years were spent doing music with my two brothers. During that time we were based in Nasvhille, Tennessee, which is a lovely place but one which never felt like home. As that chapter closed I felt the call of the Pacific and headed to Seattle and back to school at the UW.
After graduating in June I moved to the West Bank city of Beit Lehem and spent the next stretch working in the Jerusalem office of the Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information, a bi-partisan think tank working on the conflict (ipcri.org if you're interested).

The next year was spent partly in North/West Africa and partly in Paris, where I worked coordinating a research/study program for undergraduates working on minorities in democracies questions.

I'm now back to the Northwest. I live in Seattle and work for Unitus, an organization doing microfinance work (mostly in India and East Africa). It's an amazing place to work and I'm thrilled to be involved.

PHILOSOPHY

I try to be good.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I am a firm believer in the "richness of life" type of ideals espoused by this community. Connecting with people is the most important element of travelling, and couchsurfing provides a wonderful forum for those connections.
I've been happy to host travellers here in my homes in Seattle and the West Bank, and I have surfed couches from north to west Africa.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

A young guy in Bucharest saved me from a rainy night on a park bench by offering me a spot on his floor. This was not an official couchsurf, but the spirit was there. Since then I have hosted, been hosted and made some lifelong friends. What's not to like?

Interests

I like old motorcycles. I'm currently riding two: a 1972 Honda CB 350 (named "Goldie"), and a 1978 BMW R100/7. I've recently bought my first new bike, as I'm simply tired of breaking down on the side of the road all the time. The goal is to sell the BMW, fix Goldie and mostly ride the new one (the Duke).
I enjoy playing and listening to music. While music probably will never again be a job for me, it will always have some spot in my life.
The overwhelming sense of beauty and intricacy I feel when I spend time in the mountains is the same feeling I get in big, messy cities.
I like oceans a lot.

• beauty
• motorcycles
• traveling
• music
• cycling
• swimming
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

I have a large appetite for all three. The music I play is mostly quite American/Canadian in its sound. I'm enjoying the new chords and progressions, the melodies and textures of Arabic music. While my ear learns to adjust my fingers remain quite western, and I get frustrated at not being able to make Eastern music. But life is long enough to learn, right?

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Swam with dinoflagellates (the little glowing plankton) in the Red Sea. Alone, in the dead of night, in a black sea filled with billions of flashing and swirling points. Like God swimming through the night sky at the speed of light.

Teach, Learn, Share

Recently Learned Thing:
The barriers that keep you from following the things in your heart are, for the most part, imagined.
-this is something just recently suggested to me. I haven't yet tried it out, but I'm looking forward to the opportunity. I'll let you know how it goes.
(update: it's true)

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Burkina Faso, China, Côte d'Ivoire, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Hungary, India, Israel, Mali, Mauritania, Mexico, Moldova, Morocco, Netherlands, Philippines, Romania, Senegal, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Belize, Canada, France, Palestine, United States

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