CURRENT MISSION

impossible (minus Tom)

ABOUT ME

Heya! My name is Anya! I was taken from my home in Russia to the United States when I was three and have spent the rest of this short sweet life traveling back and forth between the two, and everywhere else in between. Sometimes I miss the stability of having a permanent address but when i stop too long, sooner or later, that itch for the road is on me and I am off once again.
I would like to say I am an artist, because I could not stop drawing, painting, making things if I wanted to. But I won't because it sounds too damn pretentious. So I'll say it like this: I am a painter, mostly self-taught, about to start a course in the Fine Arts at University of Edinburgh. I think that life is a story that one has to write well (if one is to get started writing at all), just as one would write a book - make it interesting, full of pirates, adventure, love, risk, and the type of stuff that would capture the imagination of an 11 year old.
And what is a story without characters? That is where this place comes in - I have just heard of couchsurfing from a friend and am kicking myself for not joining before hand. The interesting people you meet along the way are the salt of any adventure! I wish I could meet you all!
I could not live a month without the outdoors, the woods. Raised with a family split between three of the craziest, largest cities in the world (Moscow, New York, and L.A.) I long for the great, free spaces like a lost dog for home. In fact, I've spent the last year living in the middle of the woods outside of Fairbanks with no running water and a woodstove for heat and it was awesome. Livin' the dream! I kayak professionally and am the youngest person recorded to have circumnavigated Russia's Lake Baikal by kayak. I've also kayaked in Alaska, and hiked, biked, and skied all over the United States (though there are many states left to explore!) To get outside and keep up with finances I work sometimes as field hand in biology field camps. The last (this year) was helping ornithologists on the Chukotka Peninsula, Russia, in the far North. It was, as yet, the hardest place of all of them to get to.
Most of all I love the giddy feeling of exploration when you come to a new city by yourself (or even better a mountain, a huge lake, or a ghost town) and the world is brimming with infinite possibility because you do not know where to turn yet, who you will meet, where is the "right" place to go. And at that moment everything is possible. It's the beginning of a good story.

PHILOSOPHY

'A ship is safe in the harbor, but that's not what ships are for.' - William Shedd

"We shall not cease from our exploration, and at the end of all our exploring, we shall arrive where we started and know the place for the first time."
T.S. Elliot

And of course the one and only:
The only rules that really matter are these: what a man can do and what a man cant do. - Jack Sparrow

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Just started here today (July 2013) but hope to find some fellow hikers and outdoor enthusiasts to organize some excursions with, wherever I happen to be. Want to offer up a place to stay for other people on the road so fortunes go full circle.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Just started but hopefully soon to be tons!

Interests

My interests split into three main groups: lets call'em the "literary" the "art-related" and "adventures!" Under the literary category - I love to read, rather slowly sure, but I am laughed at by other backcountry travelers because I never travel without a book (or 7) in my pack, and will compromise food space for it. I had a whole dry bag of literature when I circumnavigated Baikal for which I received much shit from the two I was traveling with. But hey, one has to feed the mind, not just the stomach! And I'm pretty sure Marquez never expected to turn up in the Republic of Buryatia. My favorite books are childish (but I will argue fervently that age has nothing to do with genius): The Little Prince, The Golden Compass, The House Under the Chestnut Trees, and Dandelion Wine (Bradbury) and the list goes on from there.
The other category is Art. I cannot and would not go anywhere without at least a water color set. I love to give people paintings, momentos of places we've been together. I try to capture the world that is constantly rushing past me, painting it is the best of ways!
Finally, adventuring. A big one. Capital "A." I love to kayak, backpack, ski, climb, basically any activity that will get me somewhere remote and beautiful. I love the feeling of freedom that you, under your own power, can get yourself anywhere, and boundaries, money, documents, are no hinderance, (just superficial inventions that fade to insignificance) when your body is reliable and sturdy and you have your wits about you. There is no feeling like sitting at the smoldering remains of a camp fire, with friends, accidental strangers, or just alone, and knowing you are alive vividly, with every fibre and cell of your body. And the people you meet on adventures... thats 90% of the whole adventure! So that would be you guys. Cheers to that!

• dogs
• arts
• humanities
• writing
• books
• literature
• coloring
• dining
• wine
• running
• traveling
• painting
• drawing
• outdoor activities
• backpacking
• kayaking
• camping
• skiing
• boxing
• biology

Music, Movies, and Books

Oh god! This is hard, ya put me on the spot.
Movies off the bat I'd have to say: Pan's Labyrinth, Life is a Miracle, Amelie, Reprise, American Beauty
Books: Master and Margarita, The Grass Harp, White Fang, His Dark Materials
Music: Vitamin String Quartet, Avett Brothers, Yann Teirsan, Laura-Jean Binkley, almost anything with acoustic guitar

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

A black wolf run across my path (about 3 meters away) while portaging my kayak in Alaska, Glacier Bay. I froze with awe. Haven't unfrozen since.

Teach, Learn, Share

Each person has a ton of stuff about him, that he could share but couldn't possibly fit in this box.

Countries I’ve Visited

Czech Republic, England, Faroe Islands, France, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Russian Federation, Spain, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Ireland, Russian Federation, Scotland, United States