CURRENT MISSION

I'm currently doing a year-long project to find community in drumming around the world. I'm traveling freely, with a rough itinerary and a fierce taste for adventure. I'm learning local music, culture, and often language. So far it's been groovy.

ABOUT ME

My life is the continual story of reinventing my world. When in India, my friends found this one word to describe me: Phoenix. I love to learn, I love to expand my understanding of what is. And for me the very heart of it is people. At the end of the day, I know as well as anyone that relationships make life rich. Experiences, character, knowledge are all essential, but without others--without you--my life is much poorer.

PHILOSOPHY

Oh boy, here we go.

Life is ever beyond us, a depth greater than our line. Man's highest calling is the search for truth, for in it we find our identity and how to live; in a word, it sets us free. We are fascinating things, and understanding ourselves is the way to happiness. The joy is the journey, and everything we do is that pursuit. [Hegel]

I believe in honesty as the chief principle of mankind; not a stupid transparency, but the quality of being genuine and open. First honestly with oneself, for your character is all you can hold as truly secure. And with others, for integrity makes the world work. "To thine ownself be true, and it must follow that thou canst not be false to any man." (Shakespeare) [Rousseau]

I believe in challege because it makes people grow. If I ran out of challenges to confront, I would run out of life to live. Lasting enjoyment is found in overcoming trial. And part of mankinds purpose is to stretch itself as far and high as it can across the cosmic and intellectual backdrop. "All things excellent are as difficult as they are rare." [Spinoza]

I believe in love because without it life is empty. Not a feeling but the choice to hold someone else's good above your own. My greatest experience in life is to be seen fully, with faults, contradictions, passions, wanderings, merits, and aspirations and hear "I still love you." The happiest people in the world are enmeshed in deep, passionate commitments. Love is mankind's most precious inheritance; of all the things we do, we should not miss it. [My friends and family]

Warum ich bei Couchsurfing bin

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

At this point my involvement is purely travel, because, well, that's what I;m doing. After this year of travel, once I find a place, settle down, and buy a couch, I'll begin working on paying back the enormous debt of hospitality I owe.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I'm just starting. I thnk the best way to spend time in a new place is to meet people and understand them. My interest in couchsurfing is to know the places that I visit. Architecture, history, and sights are enjoyable inasmuch as they connect me to the broader society, present and past, but friendship is something tangible and alive to tie me in.

Interessen

Life has so much to offer; how can one decide where to use our few years. Music is the thread that runs through my life. Piano was the beginning, but it flowered into singing, but eventually I turned completely to drumming--drum corps, jazz, world music. I'm also active, having been a long-distance runner, swimmer, and futbol player. Now I climb mountains. And on top of this is a smattering of other things: juggling, dancing, philosophy, and of course, travel.

• culture
• singing
• architecture
• dancing
• running
• traveling
• socializing
• juggling
• music
• jazz
• piano
• world music
• mountaineering
• rock climbing
• swimming
• history
• mathematics
• beaches
• mountains

Musik, Filme und Bücher

Music
Jazz, Funk, Blues
Rudimental drumming: drum corps
World music: gamelan, tabla, gypsy music, samba, african drumming

Books
Philosophy: Spinoza, Hegel, Rousseau,
History: Middle-East; Radical Enlightenment
Inspiration: Power of One, The Story of my Experiments with truth (Gandhi)

Movies
Inception, The Dark Knight, 300, The Sharp End, The Prestige, Shawshank Redemption, 3 Idiots (Bollywood!)

Eine tolle Erfahrung, die ich gemacht habe

The west coast of New Zealand will always stand in my memory as a picture of natural paradise. Standing atop a 3km high mountain, I felt the ocean breeze float up only a few glaciated miles from shore. The enormous icy wonderland descended into luscious fern forest full of muddy hot springs. And the pristine black beach stretched off into eternity, leaving me in the silent sanctuary above the clouds.

Lehren, lernen, teilen

If you want to make music, I am more than happy to make it happen. I've had extensive experience drumming and teaching and I've started more than a few drum circles in my time. I know jazz and rudimental drumming, Balinese gamelan, and India tabla.

I have a strong background in mathematics that always comes in useful with kids' homework. My study also included some programming. Perhaps most interesting, I love to inspire with the elegance of math.

My activity also includes technical climbing. I do mainly rock walls but also have some experience in mountaineering. The best way to learn this subject is outside of the classroom.

Länder, die ich besucht habe

India, Indonesia, New Zealand

Länder, in denen ich gelebt habe

United States

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