Currently doing my Erasmus in Porto, Portugal and visiting all the cool nearby locations! I'm a fun-loving easy-going person who likes to travel and has seen A LOT. I've been told I'm a decent writer and I am trying to learn how to be a better photographer. I love pets (cats, dogs, rabbits, guinea-pigs, lizards - you name it) and am terrified of pigeons (or canaries; parrots are OK but I prefer to stay out of their way just in case). I am really good at languages and try to learn as many as possible, which is why while traveling I love catching up on some new expressions and words (I can say basic things like "hello, my name is..." and "I love you" in more than 12 languages). I also cook decent meals but need to work on my baking. So, I believe I'm an interesting girl to meet with some stuff to talk about ;)

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I grew up in a big city and moved to a significantly smaller one. Living there is a nightmare because I realize I know completely nothing around me, even though that never bothered me while traveling abroad. So I realized I've been doing something wrong and the experiences I've been getting without meeting the locals and getting to know the places through their eyes will never be complete. I want to make up for that, meet new people who could tell me some fascinating stories (I am kinda working on a book), and save some money while traveling the world - who would say "no" to an opportunity like that?

Interests

If you're good at writing, travel a lot, and have a DSLR - you're meant to have a blog. I wish I could write more and organize it in a better way, but studies and work get in-between and my true passion, so for now it's back to the Instagram level of microblogging. It's still pretty interesting tho ;)
Coffee and reinvention of Speakeasy culture are two things my native city (Kiev, Ukraine) does the best, so I kinda didn't have a choice on that one. And so now I'm on a devoted quest of finding best coffeeshops and bars wherever I go to compare. A few years ago I came across The World's Top 50 Best Bars list and have decided to visit them all at some point, but so far my personal experience proves that places outside of that list are far better.

• arts
• writing
• literature
• architecture
• photography
• wine
• coffee
• meditation
• traveling
• history
• languages
• philosophy
• psychology
• urban exploration
• nature
• instagram
• bars
• film
• restaurants
• marvel
• media production

Music, Movies, and Books

I'm not a very dedicated music fan - mainly stick to the popular charts on the radio, so I'm pretty mainstream in my preferences being Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, and The Chainsmokers.
MCU is the only decent franchize existing today and Disney's tendency to purchase independent companies is upsetting. I know most of the Harry Potter fan-theories and sincerely believe in the connectedness of Pixar projects. Start talking about a film and I will most probably be able to say a thing or two. Extremely disagree with IMDB's Top 250 and can explain why ;) I wrote my BA thesis on animations and fairy tales - that's pretty much all you need to know.
With the books it's simpler - I grew up reading Harry Potter and still think it's the best way to encourage your child to read. All of Neal Gayman's works deserve to be adapted into the motion pictures (although I really don't like Coraline); Always try to read the original before watching the adaptation; Oh, and I sincerely hate Remarque.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

A zebra was chewing my tent at camp at night in Ngorongoro in Tanzania and I didn't take a picture - that's a pretty amazingly stupid thing to do.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Awesome stories about different parts of the world;
My love to wine and craft cocktails;
Russian and Polish swear-words (trust me, it's a valuable skill in life)

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Barbados, Belize, Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Egypt, England, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Scotland, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Tanzania, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Poland, Portugal, Ukraine