I'm a tall (2m) graduate student studying computer science. My other great passion is philosophy (understanding how people think)--which is why I'm on couchsurfing.

I'm active, into biking, hiking, etc, and although I enjoy a good night's sleep, I've been known to wake up at 3 in the morning to catch a mountain-top sunrise.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Touring the world (seeing new places, new things, new cultures) is fun. But being a tourist is terrible. I don't want to visit the Eiffel Tower just so I can fit in with all my other friends who have visited the Eiffel Tower. Instead, I want to experience other cultures and see what it's *really* like to live somewhere else. Granted, you can't know what a place is like in only a week, but if you're only going to spend a few days in the US, I'd tell you to eat at Phil's Ice House in Austin, Texas instead of going to Times Square in New York.

Which is why I want to travel with Couchsurfing--you get to really see the culture, and get the insider's view on the city, not what some journalist decided was the "hot-spot" to see.

Interests

intellectual: computer science, biology, philosophy
athletic: basketball, volleyball (actually, almost any *ball sport), biking
music: live music, anything from indie folk to jazz to classical concert

• birds
• culture
• concerts
• traveling
• blogging
• music
• live music
• jazz
• cycling
• hiking
• sports
• basketball
• volleyball
• biology
• computer science
• journalism
• science

Music, Movies, and Books

I'm into the indie-folk scene, but I've also been getting into more electronica and some of the old-school underground rap scene. A random assortment of artists to mention: Alt-J, Bon Iver, Beirut, Atmosphere, Joshua James.

I'm into "mind-bending" movies. Like Memento, Fight Club, 1984, The Pervert's Guide to Ideology. I also like thought-provoking movies as well, like Short Term 12, Le scaphandre et le papillon, Gone Girl. Good Wes Anderson films are also good.

I've read some good books in the past: East of Eden, Poisonwood Bible, Catch 22. I'd like to read more but school has kept me busy.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

In 2014 I biked 140 km in the Swiss Alps up Ibergeregg. The scenery was gorgeous and the ride was killer. It's the first time I learned what bonking is: https://www.ride25.com/cycling-blog/bonking-birds-bees/. You would have thought I had learned my lesson the first time, but in 2015 I spent a weekend biking nearly 200km in the French Alps in the Alpes de Haute Provence. I bonked again, but not before finishing 5 or 6 cols.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Liechtenstein, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, United States