CURRENT MISSION

I've traveled a lot but now want to try living in various cities/countries.

ABOUT ME

Always willing to buck the current trends and live life exactly as I please, while still hoping to save the world at some point. I prefer to have enough free time to pursue my interests (see below) and am very happy with my life. I just wish I had another 300 years to do all that I'd like to do.

For years I'd been talking about trying life in China while using the opportunity to improve my 中文. Well, I finally got off my butt and did that. Booked a flight from San Diego to Chengdu despite (or because of) not knowing anyone here and having no idea where I'd live or study. Things always work out in the end, I say.

Now I'm doing the same thing in Việt Nam. Learning the language while experiencing daily life in a new culture.

PHILOSOPHY

It's easier to apologize than to ask permission.

On Travel: Don't worry...just go!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I'm too much of a spontaneous traveler to have been able to make much use of CS. If I like a place, I'll stay longer; if I don't, I move on. And I'd rather not make last-minute requests so I usually stay in hostels or guesthouses. But I try to attend CS events when I can. Most recently, I've been to CS events in Boston, Hong Kong, Chengdu, Taipei, Saigon, & Bangalore.

I have hosted in San Diego, though, including one CSer who stayed two months!

Interests

Travel, Modern Architecture, Film, Telecom/Computers, Music (especially modern folk).

When home in the U.S. I typically attend one or two concerts a week, usually at small coffeehouse-type venues. My favorite music venue / hangout in Chengdu is Machu Picchu (馬丘比丘咖啡館 just off 二環路)。

Coming to Chengdu meant missing one of my favorite local film festivals this year, the San Diego Asian Film Festival. But I felt that I'd make up for it with real Asian experiences here :-).

• culture
• architecture
• make up
• concerts
• festivals
• film festivals
• working out
• traveling
• music
• last minute travel

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: I usually avoid the Hollywood blockbusters and watch indie and foreign films. I love film festivals because I can watch 3 to 5 films a day for days or weeks at a time. Yes, I take notes so I remember what I saw.

Music: Again, I tend to be out of the mainstream (see Personal Description above) and mostly listen to music that lets me hear the words even if I don't understand them. So mostly I favor singer/songwriters, folk rock, and some pop. Oh, and a good country story song can be entertaining too.

Books: I'm more of a news junkie so you'll tend to find me reading newspapers and magazines before they get too out of date. That's not to say that I can't get sucked in by a really good novel.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, China, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Laos, Macao, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Norway, Palestine, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Scotland, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State, Viet Nam, Wales

Countries I’ve Lived In

China, Japan, United States, Viet Nam