Born in Russia but immigrated to the US when I was 4, I am currently studying mechanical engineering at Penn State. During the summer I escape the bonds of "responsibilities" and formal education to spend my time traveling. Last summer it was backpacking through Europe for 40 days and this summer I'm visiting cities throughout the US. I'm passionate about finding all the interesting details in life. I try to write them down so if you'd look through my journal there is a range of notes from odd story ideas and little observations to personal inventions and projects. I'm open minded and love to hear from different perspectives and cultures. I'm particularly interested in the arts and volunteering so I'd love any recommendations for that. I've recently picked up photography so I'd love to join you on tour of the city or just recommendations of cool places to wander and photograph like parks, eclectic neighborhoods, markets, tunnels, ect.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

The best of stories and experiences stem from people rather than locations. Through couchsurfing and consequently traveling, I hope to make a few more memories and take away stories worth sharing. Whether that means wandering through a city or sitting back with some Sangria and trading tales with new friends , all I'm looking is a memorable time.

Interests

• writing
• photography
• politics
• movies
• reading
• journalism
• philosophy
• volunteering
• roadtrips

Music, Movies, and Books

I'll give an incomplete list as a general indication of my tastes.

Books/Authors:
1984, Animal Farm, George Orwell
Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
The Remains of the Day, Never Let Me Go, Ishiguro
Of Human Bondage, Razor's Edge, Somerset Maugham
Arthur C. Clark
Kurt Vonnegut
Wool, Hugh Howey
Catch-22
Picture of Dorian Grey
Margret Atwood
Tolstoy
Asimov
Ray Bradbury
PKD
Karuki Murakami
Truman Capote
Daniel Yergin
Bertrand Russell

Music:
The Bravery, The Killers, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Neighbourhood, Tame Impala, Muse, The XX, Coeur De Pirate, Electric Guest, Glass Animals, Macklemore, Twenty One Pilots, The National, Phoenix, Flume, Miami Horror, Made in Heights, JR JR, STRFKR, CHVRCHES, Cage the Elephant, RAC, Rise Against, Neighbors, Work Drugs, Breton, Saint Motel, YesYou, Alt-J, Alex Turner, Hellogoodbye, Modest Mouse, Two Door Cinema Club, Atlas Genius, Summer Heart, Arcade Fire, Pacific Air, OneRepublic, Siry Sly, Pacific Air, Foster The People, Mike Snow, Ghostland Observatory, Margot and the Nuclear So an So's, The Postal Service, Death Cab for Cutie, Coldplay, various EDM

Movies:
Fight Club, Her, American History X, Submarine, There Will Be Blood, Children of Men, Moon, Birdman, Annie Hall, Amelie, Nightcrawler, Letter's from Iwo Jima, Jiro Dreams of Sushi, Twelve Monkey's American Beauty, Synechdoche, New York, Midnight in Paris, Requiem for a Dream, Moonrise Kingdom, Truman Show, The Prestige, Grand Budapest Hotel, Scindler's List, Night Train to Lisbon, American Psycho, Black Swan, The Machinist, Gattaca, Chronicle, City of God, Lives of Others, Edge of Tomorrow, Kim's Island, Brick, anything Miyazaki

Podcasts:
Radiolab
This American Life
Strangers
Planet Money
Dan Carlin's Hardcore History
Startup
Crimetown
99% Invisible
538
Invisibilia

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Backpacked through Europe. Over the span of 42 days I visited England, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Italy and France. This includes underground punk-trad parties in Galway, hidden rooftop bars in Lisbon, family dinners in Seville, the idyllic bliss of Lucca and baguettes approved by the French president.

Teach, Learn, Share

I'm not an expert on anything but there plenty of topics I've done sporadic research on and it can come up depending on the conversation and varies from monetary policy to nutrition. I'm always interested in learning from others, I feed off of a good rant. The world is filled with all sorts of little niches that most never know about, if you have one I'd be interested in a glimpse of that world.

Countries I’ve Visited

Aruba, England, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Portugal, Russian Federation, Spain, Turkey, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States