Greetings! Carpe the F*CK out of this diem!!!

Current Trip: May 10th, 2023 departed Melbourne --> Japan —> South Korea —> Thailand

- Japan: May 11 - June 29
Osaka, Arima-Onsen, Nishinomiya City (CS Host Hiroki-san), Kobe, Kyoto, Nagoya (CS - Hyo-san), Seto (CS - Hiroshi-san), Tokyo (Shinjuku-ku, CS Ali), Tokyo (CS - Yuya-san), Yokohama (CS - Ochi-san), Tokyo (CS Koutou-ku, Kent-san)

- South Korea: June 29 - July 26
Workaway in Yongin-si, Itaewon Classing it up 18th-26th

I'm Michael, 35 years young, from the Chicago, Illinois, USA. I've been living and working in Melbourne, Australia since August 2018. I traveled for one year throughout Europe and Asia between September 2017 to August 2018 and arrived in Australia for the Work Holiday VISA. Five years later I'm traveling again. The journey continues. I started in Japan in May 2023 and plan to go to Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, India, Middle East, Southern Europe, and North Africa The CS community was a huge part of my previous journey and why I continue to travel today. I look forward to rejoining the community and seeing where my travels take me.

I am also active on Workaway.info:
1. Harvesting Olives 🫒👨🏻‍🌾 for Olive Oil Production in Sciacca, Sicily, Italy 🇮🇹 (5 - 28, October 2017)
2. Harvesting Olives 🫒👨🏻‍🌾 in Furci Siculo, Sicily, Italy 🇮🇹 (5 October - 15 November 2017)
3. Dog 🐶 and Cat 🐱 Boarding Shelter in Orte, Italy 🇮🇹 (16 November - 1 December 2017)
4. Guest Reception 🏨 and Tour Guide 🗺️ In Hostel Miran in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina 🇧🇦 (20 December 2017 - 9 January 2018)
5. Cheesemaking 🧀 and Milking Goats 🐐 🐐 🐐 in Begoviči, Montenegro! 🇲🇪 (10 January - 25 March)
6. Painting 👨🏻‍🎨, Carpentry 🪚 , and Wedding Photography 📷 at Yoga 🧘‍♀️🧘‍♂️ Retreat in Palairos Lefkada, Greece 🇬🇷 (3 - 30 April, 2018)
7. Small farm holding 👨🏻‍🌾 in Karnobat, Bulgaria 🇧🇬(7 May - 1 June)
8. Teaching English 👨🏻‍🏫 and Childcare in Saint Petersburg, Russia 🇷🇺(4 - 21 June, 2018)
9. Teaching English 👨🏻‍🏫 in Saint Petersburg, Russia 🇷🇺 (22 June - 15 July, 2018)
10. Guest reception and Bartender 🍹🍻 Hostel 🏨 in Bangkok, Thailand 🇹🇭(16 July - 9 August, 2018)
11. Dairy Cow Farm 🥛 🐮 👨🏻‍🌾 in Okinawa Island, Japan 🇯🇵(3-27 June, 2023)
12. Glamping; maintenance and construction ⛺️🎩👒⛺️ in Yongin-si, South Korea🇰🇷 (June 29 - July 26)
13. UPCOMING…..Hostel work, constructing an Ice 🧊 Plunge 🛁 🥶 and Bartending in Koh Phangan Island, Thailand 🇹🇭 (August 6 - September 6)
14. THIS COULD BE YOU!!!

Whatever has led you to read my profile I wish you the best in your life's journey. The Journey continues...

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Learn from one another! Connecting with people through experience. Community and family are home. Building community through platforms like Couchsurfing and Workaway. These have enriched my life in so many ways. My family grows with each guest and host. Thank you to all that have hosted me and those to that chose to be hosted by me. Wherever I am in this world you will always have a home.

"If you can fill the unforgiving minute,
with sixty seconds worth of distance run,
yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And, which is more, you'll be a man my Son."
- Rudyard Kipling, "If"

“Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain.” ― Jack Kerouac

“THERE’S no sense in going further—it’s the edge of cultivation,”
So they said, and I believed it—broke my land and sowed my crop—
Built my barns and strung my fences in the little border station
Tucked away below the foothills where the trails run out and stop.

Till a voice, as bad as Conscience, rang interminable changes
On one everlasting Whisper day and night repeated—so:
'Something hidden. Go and find it. Go and look behind the Ranges—
Something lost behind the Ranges. Lost and waiting for you. Go!'
So I went..."
- Rudyard Kipling, "The Explorer" (1898)

“Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind.” – Seneca

"In the country where I am traveling, Tibet...people believe if they walk long distances to holy places...It purifies the bad deeds they've committed. They believe the more difficult the journey...the greater the depth of purification." - Heinrich Harrer, "Seven Years in Tibet" (1953)

Interests

Discovering new interests every day. I like to be versatile in many skills, languages, and interests. Jack-of-all-trades!

• animals
• arts
• theater
• performing arts
• music festivals
• festivals
• education
• marathon
• traveling
• bouldering
• music
• hiking
• camping
• snowboarding
• basketball
• rock climbing
• soccer
• rugby
• hitchhiking
• volunteering
• farming
• futsal
• carpentry
• beards

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: Ty Segall, The SameOlds, Benjamin Booker, Bahamas, Caamp, CCR, Mac Miller, Roddy Rich, BTS

Movies: Green Street Hooligans, Furioza, Un Prophete, GANTZ:O, Tales of Earth Sea (ゲド戦記), The Outfit, The Way

TV: Currently watching The Sanctuary (slowly, I don't watch much when I travel)

Books: Any Recommendations? I read a lot. Currently on "Shantaram"

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Played the opening chords of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” for 5 Polizia di Palermo when they were called to my CS host on account of a mysterious bearded fellow walking aimlessly around the city streets at night with an ominous black case (ukulele inside).

Sold or donated all my belongings to go traveling indefinitely TWICE!!! 2017-2018, and 2023-present day

Teach, Learn, Share

LEARN:
Traditional regional recipes? (*I would love to cook along with you and learn)

Favorite(s):
- Films, Movies, Documentaries, TV?
- Ted Talks?
- Podcasts?
- Jokes?
- Vegetarian/Vegan recipes? I'm always considering a change in diet.
- Quotes you live by?
- Famous musicians and bands from your country?

Farming or gardening skills?
- I like to work on farms all across the world (See above)

Book recommendations?
- Authors?
- Book genres?

What is the best cup of coffee you have ever had?

Who is or was your darkest teacher? (borrowed from Brené Brown)

What I Can Share with Hosts

Joy of conversation

Choose a dish I am happy to make for you and friends:
* Frisella Family Recipes
- Grandma’s Saffron Risotto
- Italian-American Pasta Sauce (Grandpa Frank and Dad)
- White Fish with Roasted Potatoes (Ann, best sister ever)
- Pasta dough from scratch
- Chicken Piccata

*Mexican (I worked two years in Melbourne, Australia at Taquito)
- Guacamole and fresh totopos
- Tacos (I can accommodate any and all dietary restrictions)
- Quesadillas
- Burritos

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Curaçao, England, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Kosovo, Macedonia, Mexico, Montenegro, Netherlands, Russian Federation, Singapore, Thailand, Turkey, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Montenegro, Thailand, United States