hippie ✨☮️ dreamer, always reader, sometimes writer.

It's always very hard to describe yourself because eventually we all are just a blend of thoughts, emotions, and experiences. Life is a journey of endless self-discovery. Endless pieces of a puzzle that come together to create the unique individual you are.

When we meet, observe, talk and learn from other people, it can provide insights into our own nature. In this sense, people serve as mirrors, showing us both the familiar and unfamiliar aspects of ourselves. By recognizing ourselves in others, we can learn and evolve, fostering deeper connections.
I personally believe that everything and everyone is connected, and we live for the glimmers of insight that we can gain into these connections.

This is actually the reason why I love couchsurfing community. It shows a proof of this interconnectedness: while we all come from diverse backgrounds, speak different languages, and carry distinct appearances, have different life paths, we are bound by the universal language of emotions, shared experiences, and the fundamental essence of being human. This essence transcends the surface-level disparities and connects us on a deeper level, navigating our shared journey on this planet.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

inviting a total stranger into your home as a friend, sharing food and moments together is a powerful act of rebellion against the modern hyper-individualistic society that often isolates and divides us.
It also embodies the essence of Kropotkin's concept of "mutual aid" in an anarchical context (when people naturally come together to support each other without hierarchical structures). Couchsurfing, similarly, for me is a modern manifestation of this wonderful principle. It's an example of how people can come together to support and help one another in a way that defies conventional norms, when shared values, communication and mutual respect can create an environment where independence and voluntary cooperation harmoniously coexist. It also challenges the profit-centered nature of tourism, turning it into an inclusive and accessible experience for people from diverse economic backgrounds, rather than a luxury available only to the financially privileged. I started travelling when I was an 18-year-old student from a low-income family in Russia and Couchsurfing played a significant role in launching my journey of world exploration.

Moreover, it's a great way to meet amazing, inspiring people all over the world, save some money for joyful experiences while travelling and gain deeper insights into your own self. Every time when I travel and meet someone new, I learn a little bit more about the world and in turn I learn more about myself.

Николай Васильевич Гоголь писал про это ещё в 19 веке:
"...таким же точно образом и еще с большим любопытством, приехавши в первый уездный или губернский город, старайтесь узнать его достопримечательности. Они не в архитектурных строениях и древностях, но в людях. Клянусь, человек стоит того, чтоб его рассматривать с большим любопытством, нежели фабрику и развалину. Попробуйте только на него взглянуть, вооружась одной каплей истинно братской любви к нему, и вы от него уже не оторветесь -- так он станет для вас занимателен."
(с) Выбранные места из переписки с друзьями

Interests

languages, psychology, education, anthropology, history, linguistics, reading and writing, literatura y cultura latinoamericana, realismo mágico, art of mosaics and art in all its forms in general, underground, the Beatles, classic rock music, woodstock, rock festivals and events, psychedelia, hippie movement and counterculture of 60s, mycology of consciousness, anarchism, feminism, activism, traveling, raves, nature, tea drinking

• dogs
• literature
• music festivals
• raves
• traveling
• rock music
• guitar
• camping
• psychology
• road trips
• mountains
• nature
• linguistics
• underground culture
• sea
• activism
• feminism
• ancient history
• bicycling
• new experiences
• language learning
• meeting new people
• antropology
• simpsons
• psychedelics
• 420
• latinoamerica
• languages and cultures
• psychedelic rock
• postcrossing
• historical places
• having a good time
• alternative places
• old movies
• rock concerts
• anarchism
• the beatles
• free spirit
• critical thinking
• nature walks
• memes
• drinking tea
• filosophy
• zen buddhism
• psychedelia
• ancient rome
• mosaics

Music, Movies, and Books

Music:

the Beatles (my favorite band ever), la música latinoamericana (ranchera, baladas, vallenatos viejitos, salsa, merengue, música criolla), musica italiana dell' opera classica (Luciano Pavarotti, Renata Scotto, Il Volo, etc), canti popolari, classical music, rock en español (Heroes de Silencio son mis favoritos) rock 60-80s (Queen, Pink Floyd, Scorpions, David Bowie, Guns N' Roses, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, the Doors, King Crimson, Yes, Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Santana, Hendrix, Frank Zappa, Janis Joplin etc...prog, hard, art rock, some heavy metal bands as well), anatolian rock (Barış Manço,), blues, soul, jazz, fusion, bossa nova, ethnic music, tropicalia, cumbia and other psychedelic sounds of all kinds, psytrance, dark wave, post punk, soviet/ siberian/psychedelic punk and new wave (google группа Кино, Гражданская Оборона, Егор и Опизденевшие), Zemfira, Lebanon Hanover, Les Rallizes Dénudés, some japanese noise rock and 60-70s asian psychedelia in general (and not only asian, any country and continent, I love to discover new things) jugoslovenska progresivna muzika

Books:

Classic literature in different languages (mostly the romantic period: Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, gothic novel etc); of course, russian classic literature: "The Dream of a Ridiculous Man" Dostoyevski, "Resurrection" Tolstoy, "Dead Souls" Gogol, "Woe from Wit" Griboyedov (if you want I can recite some parts by heart in Russian) "And Quiet Flows The Don" Sholokhov, "The bet" Chekhov (the most favorite from Chekhov I guess but in general he is my favorite writer), Mayakovsky, Kruchyonykh and other the most radical poets of Russian Futurism ( a topic I could talk about for hours, if you want)
italian classic literature: from Dante Alighieri, Boccaccio and Goldoni to Buzzati, Italo Calvino and Moravia. I am also in love with Gianni Rodari literature and italian children's literature (and in general children's literature in different languages)
libros de Gabriel García Márquez ("Cien años de soledad" es mi libro favorito, "Vivir para contarla" también me encanta mucho), modern poetry in different languages, la literatura latinoamericana, realismo mágico, "Como agua para chocolate", "Las venas abiertas de América Latina", "El laberinto de la soledad", "Alturas de Macchu Picchu" etc.

Some philosophy books: Plato's dialogues and "Republic", Aristotle, Epicurus, Lucius Annaeus Seneca's letters from a stoic, Montaigne's "Essays", Albert Camus and his absurdism (my philosophy while living in Russia) Jean-Paul Sartre with his causa sui etc.

"Into the wild" by Jon Krakauer, "Walden or Life in the Woods" by Henry David Thoreau.

"Food of the Gods: The Search for the Original Tree of Knowledge : a Radical History of Plants, Drugs and Human Evolution" by Terence McKenna; "Turn on, tune in, drop out" by Timothy Leary,
other books about human consciousness, anthropology, philosophy, psychology and psychedelia

"The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge" by Carlos Castaneda

"The Way of Zen" by Alan Watts

Oliver Sacks books ("the River of Consciousness", "hallucinations", "Oaxaca journal", "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat")
"Man's Search for Meaning" by Viktor Frankl

"When Breath Becomes Air" by Paul Kalanithi

Carl Jung "Man and His Symbols", "The Archetypes and The Collective Unconscious", "The Relations Between the Ego and the Unconscious", "Memories, Dreams, Reflections")

gonzo journalism (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson, Hell's Angels)

"Two Cheers for Anarchism" James Scott, "L'anarchia" Errico Malatesta, "Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution", "Statism and Anarchy" and other books by Kropotkin and Bakunin of course :)

Movies:

My favorite movie is "Before the sunrise", it's my comfort movie :)

Films directed by Richard Linkletter (especially "Before" trilogy and "Waking Life"), Bernardo Bertolucci ("Conformista" and "Dreamers" are my favorite), Gaspar Noé ("Love" is my favorite, but I admire his audiovisual language in general)
Good old classics: Luis Buñuel, Paolo Pasolini, Elia Kazan ("streetcar named desire"), Kubrick, etc...
Andrei Arsenievich Tarkovsky
post-soviet russian cinema - Balabanov, Zvyagintsev, Sigarev

Clásicos del cine español - Alejandro Amenábar/Almodóvar
películas del nuevo cine mexicano: Alejandro Iñárritu (especialmente "Amores Perros" y "Biutiful"), Alfonso Cuarón "Y tu mamá también"

The Holy Mountain (Alejandro Jodorowsky, 1973)

The Colour of Pomegranates (Цвет граната) - Sergei Parajanov (1969)

And of course, Monty Python's Flying Circus, Futurama, Simpsons (a crazy fan with a ton of Simpsons references in my head and on my body in the form of tattoos, haha), Family Guy, South Park, BoJack Horseman

I also love soviet psychedelic cartoons :)

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Adopted a street dog who is now my best friend and the sweetest family member :3

Teach, Learn, Share

teach: everything - at times you are the teacher at times you are the student
learn: everything - from other people and from your experience
share: a cup of tea, a beer, a joint, a bottle of wine (or cider xd) , some good food, some cool stories, interesting ideas, happy moments and memories

What I Can Share with Hosts

Buenas conversaciones, pasatiempo agradable
Good conversations, pleasant pastime

Countries I’ve Visited

Andorra, Armenia, Belarus, Belgium, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

Russian Federation, Spain, Turkey