ABOUT ME

I've been mostly based in Vietnam for the past several years, working as an English teacher. However, my job allows me quite a lot of flexibility and I've been fortunate enough to travel pretty widely. Besides traveling my other main hobbies are books, taking photos, trying street food, and occasionally hiking (when I'm looking for a challenge).

PHILOSOPHY

I studied philosophy in college, so I guess it would make sense for me to have some kind of personal philosophy, but I'm not sure I do. Maybe I should just call myself a doubter. However, I can say that travel has been a huge part of shaping my life and it would be a pleasure to help fellow travelers have a great time in my city.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Meeting people is pretty much the main reason to travel, in my opinion. CS is a great facilitator for that.

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: Beirut, Chris Thile, The Smiths, Morrissey, Smashing Pumpkins, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Stromae, Colin Hay, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Dengue Fever. I also really love a lot of classical music -- Bach, Mendelssohn, Dvorak, Gershwin, Barber.

Books:

Some notable fiction: Under the Volcano, The Stranger, Captain Corelli's Mandolin, The Sorrow of War, The Short-Timers, The Dancer Upstairs, The Sportswriter, The Ice Storm, Highways to a War, The Passenger, Stella Maris, A Grain of Wheat, When Rain Clouds Gather, The Inscrutable Americans, Herzog, Seize the Day

Non-fiction: River of Time, Living Poor, The Saddest Pleasure, Where the Indus is Young, The Ukimwi Road, West with the Night, Venture to the Interior, A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush, Bitter Lemons of Cyprus, In Patagonia, Riding the Iron Rooster, Black Virgin Mountain, Another Day of Life

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Slept in a freezing yurt in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach you all the best English-language idioms.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I love to talk about just about everything, but especially books, music, history, international politics, science, etc.

I also love to play word games (Scrabble, etc.)

I am pretty close to being an expert on Cambodia, as I lived there for 3 years and can speak the language. If you want to know anything about Cambodia or learn some Khmer, let me know!

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Armenia, Bangladesh, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Canada, China, Croatia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Georgia, Greece, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Malawi, Malaysia, Montenegro, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Cambodia, Italy, Kenya, Thailand, United States, Viet Nam