CURRENT MISSION

I am traveling around the world by land and sea.

ABOUT ME

I quit my job last year and have been traveling ever since. I have been on the road since June 2012, and have a loose goal of making my way around the world by land or sea--€”no airplanes. I reached Central America in July 2012 (busses and trains from Ohio), South America in October 2012 (a boat from Panama to Colombia), and Europe in March 2013 (a boat from Brazil to Spain).

I was born and raised in Ohio, and went to university in Cleveland. After university I lived in Austria and Germany for about a year, mostly working as a dishwasher to make ends meet. I came back to Ohio and accepted a management position with a large company, where I worked for more than seven years. Now I am a long-term traveler.

PHILOSOPHY

To paraphrase something once said by Albert Camus: Yes, there is pain and ugliness in the world, but there is also great beauty. I try hard to ignore neither one nor the other.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I was introduced to the concept of couchsurfing by some friends I met in Mexico City, but have only scratched the surface of couchsurfing so far—a few days in Toulouse, France, which were great. When I return to the States in a year or so, I'll have a couch ready for anyone doing a road trip through the Midwest.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I’ve only had one couchsurfing experience so far, but I really enjoyed it, and am hoping to do this more going forward. I have been living in hostels for the past 9 months, and while that is fun and rewarding in many ways, I am eager for a new travel experience.

Interests

When I was younger, I dabbled in many things. Lots of reading, lots of music (listening), a fair bit of drawing and painting, playing bass guitar in a couple bands, joining many university organizations (Amnesty International, DJ at the campus radio station, starting a philosophy club, etc). When I was 23, I accepted a job that was great in many ways, but which consumed most of my time and energy. I stayed there for more than seven years, then finally extricated myself in April of 2012. To be honest, during these years I lost sight of what truly engages and satisfies me. I am now giving myself a big chunk of time to travel and explore the world, and am currently learning to reconnect with what "grabs my attention and makes my life engaging".

• beauty
• running
• clubbing
• boating
• reading
• traveling
• painting
• drawing
• music
• guitar
• business
• volunteering
• long-term travel

Music, Movies, and Books

As examples: I am very fond of David Foster Wallace's writing, especially 'Infinite Jest'. I listened to a lot of punk rock when I was younger, but my musical tastes have mellowed as I've grown older (I hated Bob Dylan when I was 20, and now I think he's incredible). I like films directed by Stanley Kubrick, Michael Winterbottom, Wes Anderson, and the Coen brothers.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

My most recent "amazing thing" happened at the beginning of this trip around the world, when I spent two months volunteering at a children's home in El Salvador. The kids were great, and the people who run the place were great, and I learned a lot about the challenges of running such an organization.

Teach, Learn, Share

I wouldn't call myself an expert at anything, but am happy to share what little I know. I can explain why it's almost always typographically incorrect to put two spaces after a period. I can teach you how to play Bob Dylan's "Song to Woody" on a guitar. I can tell you what I learned from seven years of managing people in the context of a large business. And I'm up for learning pretty much anything.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Spain, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Germany, United States