CURRENT MISSION

Get to know and interact with people from other cultures while exploring the world and broadening my horizons, in every sense of the word.

ABOUT ME

Trying to describe oneself isn't an easy task, but here goes nothing...After entering UCLA with a tentative English Major declared, I now find myself pursuing a double BA in German and Communications Studies, hoping to discover some route to employment in the next few years. I love working with kids and have been a Camp Counselor for the past two summers, working at Bruin Woods (a family alumni camp for UCLA) with both 7-8 yr olds and 12-13 yr olds.

Although I am a "California Boy" born and bred, I have been fortunate enough to explore many amazing parts of the world and by doing so, have developed an unquenchable thirst for travel as well as interaction with people from different cultures and backgrounds. I am open-minded, more carefree than I would admit to my parents, and think unintentional tangents within conversations can be the most entertaining part of talking to someone.

I play rugby (both here in Europe as well as back in the States) and soccer, love to snowboard, mountain bike, work with kids, mess around with my camera, and do things I've never done before. I try to collect a sticker from every memorable place I travel to that I attach to the water bottle that I travel with.

PHILOSOPHY

We hardly know ourselves if we know nobody else.

If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.

The lower your expectations are, the less likely you are to be disappointed.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I love meeting new people and getting to know where they came from as well as what helped make them the way they are now, hence why the events, both at home and abroad, are very appealing.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Just now entering the Couchsurfing World and hoping to experience something within it that will make it worth joining and recommending (not to mention give me something better to write here!!).

Interests

To make it short: I like traveling, meeting new people, trying new things, working with kids, sushi, beer (particularly German and Belgium, although open to suggestions!), sports, unexpected conversations, traveling, photography, music, and you will rarely ever hear me turn down an opportunity to party/socialize.

• photography
• cooking
• beer
• partying
• drinking
• traveling
• socializing
• music
• cycling
• camping
• scuba diving
• snowboarding
• sports
• soccer
• rugby
• communications
• law

Music, Movies, and Books

Books: my favorite book is "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" by Tom Robbins although I have read things all across the board, from "1,000 Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez to Shakespeare to "The Canterbury Tales" to "The Art of Dreaming" by Carlos Castaneda. I love reading and will read anything that catches my eye.

Music: my interests range from classic rock to reggae to indie/alternative rock to hip-hop and elektro. If you were to use my Ipod, don't be surprised if you heard the Grateful Dead followed by Outkast and then Mumford & Sons. More artistic specific; Edward Sharpe & Magnetic Zeros, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Kings of Leon, the Kooks, Bombay Bicycle Club, Tupac, Florence and the Machine, and A Tribe Called Quest.

Movies: Nacho Libre, Clerks, Inception, A Clockwork Orange, Apocalypse Now, Quentin Tarantino movies, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Snatch, Saving Private Ryan, LOTR Trilogy, Toy Story, The Art of Flight

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Scuba dove on the Great Barrier Reef

Teach, Learn, Share

- Could share experiences as a way to "break the ice" and find common ground
- always willing to learn new cultural practices (i.e. - cooking, drinking, holidays, etc.)
- Could explain relevant cultural differences

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Laos, Netherlands, Spain, Tanzania, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States