CURRENT MISSION

I am attempting to see some of the interesting things in Europe before I have to return to the United States and spend all of my weekends working in a library.

ABOUT ME

I am currently in Goettingen, Germany participating in an intensive seven-week German language course. I am taking this course so that I can take higher-level German courses at my University and start reading texts in German.

I will be starting my senior year at Binghamton University in Binghamton, New York this coming fall. I am working towards a Bachelor's Degree in History. I have also taken courses relating to some of my other interests, such as Philosophy and Comparative Literature.

I am an avid reader. Authors who are currently of interest to me include William S. Burroughs, Charles Bukowski, H.P. Lovecraft, Jean Genet, Slavoj Zizek, Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari. I also try to dedicate some of my reading time to material on World War II, the Holocaust, and post-1945 Europe because those are the topics that I want to study in graduate school. This summer has been strange for me because I have gone two months without finishing a book.

My travel-related interests center on the historical aspects of the places that I visit. Visiting museums, art galleries, and historical landmarks consumes most of my travel time when I am in a major city. I would like to spend greater amounts of time exploring some of the less tourist-filled areas of the cities that I visit, but that is difficult to plan and carry out.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I am new to CouchSurfing, so I don't have any stories to share. I hope that I can connect with someone here either before I leave Europe or later when I am in the United States.

Interests

One thing that I am interested in that does not fit neatly into any of the other categories is motorcycles. I first became interested in motorcycles because some of my favorite professional skateboarders ride them. Then I started to pay more attention to the motorcycles at the car shows that I often attend in my area, and now I am considering purchasing a motorcycle at some point in the future. More about this can be found in my blog post here: http://fickledawn.tumblr.com/post/416924074/max-schaaf-patrick-odell-skateboarding.

I am a passionate New York Mets fan. I became a Mets fan largely because one of my mentors who guided me through middle school and high school is a Mets fan. I became a Mets fan just in time to watch them make disastrous mistakes and miss the playoffs by the slimmest of margins multiple years in a row.

• arts
• books
• literature
• motorcycles
• reading
• traveling
• blogging
• skateboarding
• history

Music, Movies, and Books

Music I have been listening to lately: Kool Keith, Dave Brubeck Quartet, Andre Nickatina, Steel Pole Bath Tub, Ben Folds/Ben Folds Five, Elton John (Tiny Dancer), Yuki (Joy), Yelle, The Smiths, The Shins

Movies of recent interest: Parfum (the Story of a Murderer), The Beat My Heart Skipped, Altered States, Matango, The Rules of the Game, The Lives of Others

Countries I’ve Visited

Germany

Countries I’ve Lived In

Germany, United States

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