I'm an exotic mix of Norwegian, Russian, Armenian and Cossack heritage. Born in the USSR. Grew up partly in the USSR/Russia, partly in Norway. At the moment I'm based in Oslo where I work as geotechnical engineer.

I consider the Life as a precious gift and don't take it for granted. After all, every living being is only a guest on this planet. Our time, material assets and even physical bodies/health are given just for rent, in order to achieve important knowledge and to contribute to this world.

Often thinking about the impermanence of existence, I try to appreciate every moment and small pleasures of it. I find the joy in the sound of rain outside, the smell of freshly brewed espresso on Saturday morning, daydreaming, watching world go by in the elegant urban scenes, hiking through rolling hills, being on the coast and watching the sea, reading a classic book in silence, befriending enlightened souls and learning from their wisdom and compassion.

And then there is traveling, the very chance to learn more about other people, cultures, geography, history and beauty of the places... It all started when I graduated in 2007, worked abroad for a year, saved some money, and went backpacking with Trans-Siberian railway all the way to China, then to South-East Asia.

Since then, my life has never been the same. I have traveled to about 50 countries and seen many unbelievable things, and have been living in several fascinating locations like Bhutan (a country where development is measured in happiness instead of GNP), Svalbard Archipelago in the Arctics and Russia.
I've traveled to some dangerous but immensely beautiful places like Afghanistan and Yemen, the memories of which will stay with me forever.
Along my journey in this life, I have met and befriended many amazing people and learned a lot from them.

Beside of all that, I am a dedicated opponent of globalization, current financial system, unipolar world order, industrial agriculture and GMO industry. I do believe that the future of humanity lies in the diversity of countries and cultures, mutual respect, education and enlightenment, compassion for each other and the planet.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I have recently moved to Oslo after living in Trondheim for more than a decade.

I rarely couchsurf self, but I enjoy hosting interesting and fascinating people when I have the opportunity to do so. Unfortunately, I work a lot and have a busy schedule, so it's not often I host nowadays. However, depending on the situation I might or might not host; your best bet is to query.

Having that said, I am pretty tired of members who fail to understand the concept of CS. Obviously I'm talking about those who regard the host's home as nothing more than a free hotel, and who don't even bother to read the host's profile before sending a request. If you have read my profile that far, please include *enlightenment* in your request so I know you are not one of these people :)

Similarly, if I have asked you about being my host, I did so because I find your profile to be intriguing- and yes, I've read it to the end.

Interests

Some of my passions are traveling to exotic places, semi-professional photography, organic and vegetarian food, cooking (being my host you will experience the best dinners ever made by your guests!), good wines, classic litterature, classic music, geopolitics and history, nature and trekking, foreign languages and sport.

• photography
• dining
• cooking
• vegetarian
• traveling
• music
• sports
• geopolitics
• history
• languages

Music, Movies, and Books

- Classic literature! Dostoevsky is perhaps my favorite writer since his books are the bible in human psychology. Those who understand Dostoevsky will understand life :)
- Deep movies. Some of the favorites? Hmmm... Here it's difficult to pick up the favorites. Probably Matrix, Godfather, Shawshank Redemption, Pulp Fiction, Fight Club.
- Old-fashioned rock, classic music (Mozart is the king!).

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

- Living in one of the world's most inaccessible countries where people go at work with their national dress on (Bhutan)
- Bungee jumping into the world's deepest gorge (Nepal)
- Almost lost my life, by misconception of cultural code (Afghanistan)
- Rafting at Europe's best rafting river (Iceland)
- Being the only tourist, wandering along the romantic streets of ancient Arabic city of Shibam Hadramawt, and staring on its magnificent skyscrapers of mud (the earliest skyscrapers in human history!), in the beautiful and fairytale land with tragic history (Yemen)
- Traveling by Trans-Siberian railway (Russia and Mongolia)

Teach, Learn, Share

- I can teach you wonderful exotic recipes I've picked up along my travels around the world, and I would love to learn your recipes
- I can tell you stories about amazing faraway places you never knew existed, and I will appreciate to hear the stories about your travels
- I can share my knowledge about history, geopolitics, current world order, GMO- and I would love to learn from your knowledge
- I can teach you Russian or Norwegian
- I can teach you photography

Countries I’ve Visited

Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Australia, Belgium, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Egypt, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Italy, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mongolia, Montenegro, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Svalbard and Jan Mayen, Sweden, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Viet Nam, Yemen

Countries I’ve Lived In

Bhutan, Norway, Russian Federation, Svalbard and Jan Mayen