Ahoy mateys!
I'm a 25 years old nomad, desk drawer blogger (it's a Russian idiom :D) and a former hostel worker with a passion for almost everything in the world.
I have worked as a receptionist in a most beautiful hostel for the past few years of my life. I loved my work, mostly because I was lucky to meet people from all over the world while being on duty. The stories, the characters, the dialects and the experiences were endless - they came, burst into my life, and went on to continue with their own journey.
These encounters made me realize I was at the very right age to go and explore life outside myself. Together with my beloved partner of 3 years, we gave away everything we had, packed our belongings in a backpack, went to embassy and got a Work Travel Visa for one year in Germany.

Currently we're on a mission to figure out what we want this year to look like. We're going through Germany (and a bit of Europe) with aim to make new lifetime friends, learn new skills and establish new realizations about ourselves and our approach to living. :)

Activities that would fill up my perfect day:
- attending a Lindy Hop/Swing dancing class (we have those for free in Tel Aviv, just FYI);
- taking a bicycle ride or skating;
- going to an art museum;
- hopping on a bus to a random location and staying overnight in a tent or a hostel I've never been to before;
- visiting a beer bazaar and ending up with a six-pack of random boutique beers nobody knows the names of;
- googling how to say "My hovercraft is full of eels" in Tagalog, which will gradually turn into a day spent in Wikipedia, with me raveling the origin of chemical element names, discovering the most amusing anatomy terms, learning how to fly a zeppellin and/or writing awkward 4-chords guitar songs based on iambic pentameter;
- staying at home under the blankets and eating pancakes while watching some Doctor Who or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. NO REGRETS!!1

*I know that in my profile it's written that I'm older. It's a mistake which happened not on purpose, and now I can not edit it :(( There is no certain age I associate myself with, however - it is important for me not to start a communication with misleading information. So.. Right now I'm 25 years old - for better or worse. :)

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

WHEN TRAVELING (more relevant right now): looking for an alternative experience of getting acquainted with the local lifestyle, wishing to see the life in the city from the inside, and not the way it is being handed to us in tourist booklets. I would rather go to the most weird and underground bar in the neighborhood than attend a conventional trip around the historic monuments of the city. I would rather try a scuba diving yoga class (wait, what??) than go shopping. I would rather sleep under the sky of million stars than take a fancy 5-star room in the hotel**.
(*the last one came out kinda cheesy, but I stil like it, so I'll leave it I guess...)
(**well, it also depends on the weather and stuff, you know...)

WHEN HOSTING: because being able to provide people a friendly, non-demanding and cozy home on their journey is awesome. Also, because I'm eager to meet people from all over the world even when not traveling myself. Would like to have long meaningful or nonsensical conversations.

Interests

Skating, for me, is the most fulfilling, healthy and ecological way to clench the need for speed. :) I've been an amateur roller derby skater until a rib injury forced me to pause the training and step back from aggressive contact sport for a while. I would absolutely love to be adopted into a new roller derby team at the next country I'd find myself living at. Who knows which one it will be? :)
Until then, my partner and me are practicing our rollerblading skills. Skates were one of the most important things we packed on our one-year trip. (A pair of roller blades and the whole gear can fit perfectly into a carry-on - could you imagine?!?!). We are eager to find people to roam the city with! Would you like to become our skating companion? Or rather share an enthusiastic bicycle trip in the nature?
I also love camping, learning survival tricks, discussing art and opinions and geeking out about linguistics. It's pretty hard to describe your own interests when you're hyped about everything. So instead, let's meet and figure out out mutual interests instead. :()

• arts
• writing
• books
• literature
• poetry
• graphic design
• fashion
• photography
• tattoos
• piercings
• diy
• dancing
• swing dancing
• cooking
• vegan
• modeling
• walking
• thrifting
• movies
• board games
• traveling
• blogging
• dumpster diving
• alternative music
• guitar
• hiking
• biology
• chemistry
• medicine
• geek
• buddhism
• feminism
• queer
• roller skating
• lindy hop
• roller derby
• challenges
• trying new things
• second hand

Music, Movies, and Books

Music:
I have a big passion for music from 60s-70s-80s-90s, all varying in genres.
It's too complex for me to choose one option between headbanging to a good portion of metal or fooling around to the sounds of electro-swing music.
All-time favorites: Parov Stelar, Alice Francis, Amanda Palmer (as a way of life), Post-Modern Jukebox, Grimes, Janelle Monae, Marina and the Diamonds, Men at Work (I know, right?), Electric Light Orchestra, North Sea Radio Orchestra, When Saint Go Machine, TV on the Radio.

Literature:
I enjoy sci-fi, biographies and novels based on real events or depicting specific episodes of history. Especially historical comic books. :) I also adore poetry.
Favorite comic books: Saga, Transmetropolitan, Nao of Brown, Hyperbole and a Half, Favorite writers are: Robert Heinlein, Alfred Bester, Neil Stephenson, Kurt Vonnegut. Favorite poets: William Blake, Sylvia Plath, William Buttler Yeats, e.e. cummings, T.S. Eliot.

Fun fact: I'm a sucker for reading research papers in biology and medical field, so if you have some exciting news from the science world please feel free to share!

Movies:
Whether it is sci fi, musical, superheroes, drama or a smart comedy - I'm up for it. :) You are welcome to let me know what's your favorite Buffy the Vampire Slater episode or which Twin Peaks episode made you go "WTF" the most!

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Whwn I was a part of hostel association I had a possibility to visit a bunch hostels around Israel for free. It was a great deal aimed to bring hostel workers together, strengthen the bonds beteeen small businesses and make it possible for receptionists to give personal recommendations about places to their customers. One of the hostels I have visited up in Golan Heights became my favorite one ever. It was love from a first visit. :) And I thought that the best thing that could ever happen was becoming part of their team.
When I quit my every day job knowing I would travel soon, I went up North and told the owner I had a dream of learning how to manage a hostel from him.
Long story short, that's how my partner and me found ourselves babysitting a hostel of my dreams for a whole month. I had a dream and I went for it. And it felt amazing. This experience not only taught us about hostel keeping, but also filled our life with wonderful brave people, challenging situations, picturesque landacapes and belief in ourselves and in others.

Teach, Learn, Share

I would love to find companions for meditations, skating, bycicle riding and music making.
Would gladly teach you how to veganize your meals AND cocktails in case you are new to it and are willing to know some sneaky secrets.
Would be happy to create a judgment-free space with you, in which we could try reading our favorite poems out loud together, create uneducated music and exchange unpopular opinions.
We can go out together on challenges, such as photo scavenging. Have you heard of this? :)

What I Can Share with Hosts

Cooking vegan meals, cleaning around, teaching Russian (which I am fluent at), tutoring Photoshop, helping with any DIY, graphic design or content writing, modeling for your jewelry/outfit/whatever boutique.

**In a country where roller derby matches actually happen - I would appreciate going to a local Roller Derby match together or getting acquainted and training together with local teams ^^ **

Countries I’ve Visited

Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Netherlands, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Israel