Traveling to Lisbon mid-May so get in touch if you have tips :)

Originally from Moldova, currently a Londoner, running an NGO about Eastern European affairs: www.neweastplatform.org

Interested in politics, sociology, philosophy, photography, theatre and art. Dinners with friends over a glass of good wine and good conversation make life worth living for.

Foodie alert: traveling has to involve discovering a new culture, and its culinary traditions, trying out varieties of tea and coffee, and food markets.
I delight in 50s and 60s oldies and goldies, as well as jazz and blues tunes. I can tirelessly dance to good music on a night out, and will be on the look out for good music venues whenever I go abroad.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

2 reasons:
I find it incredibly generous that people choose to open their doors to strangers. Hence I'm curious to meet the host and his/her friends, because they probably are very cool people.

I'm convinced that the best way to discover a new place is by knowing locals. I'd like to get to know my host, hang out with them and their friends, cook for them/host them in return and find out more about the people and the country I'm visiting.

Interests

Politics and social theory - sociology, political systems, international relations and world news.
Photography
Philosophy - it's changed my way of thinking about the world, and I am grateful for that.
Yoga
An interest in health ( nutrition, sports, fitness).
Writing( short essays, articles and poetry).
Art& The History of Art
Theatre! London's drama culture is a gem.
Drinking coffee, tea and since I'm Moldovan, red wine is a must.
Food markets! I love wondering through food stalls and discovering hidden cuisines, in London and abroad.
Eastern Europe - from Russian culture to Georgian art to the Ukrainian revolution and frozen conflicts, the region fascinates me.

• arts
• culture
• writing
• poetry
• folklore
• photography
• dancing
• swing dancing
• dining
• cooking
• chocolate
• wine
• red wine
• coffee
• fitness
• yoga
• running
• drinking
• politics
• news
• traveling
• music
• live music
• jazz
• blues
• sports
• history
• international relations
• sociology

Music, Movies, and Books

Books: any by Gabriel Garcia Marquez , Haruki Murakami, Franz Kafka, Hemingway, Thomas Mann and the Russian classics: Nabokov, Dostoevsky, Checkhov and Tolstoy.

Poetry - Robert Browning, Philip Larkin, Edgar Allan Poe, Pablo Neruda, Maya Angelou, Warsan Shire( contemporary) Dylan Thomas, Baudelaire. I don't know much about international poetry, with the exception of Romanian, and I'm curious to learn more about it.

I like films as varied as Woody Allen's, Polanski's, Tarantino's and Hitchkok's, but will also happily chill with a rom com or an old film ( Audrey Hepburn style). & all Disney films :)
Films that I like post 2000 are Benjamin Button, The Prestige, Spotlight, An Education, Amelie, Artificial Intelligence, Inception, Big Fish, Brokeback Mountain, 500 days of Summer, Ratatouille :D

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Participated in Moldova's anti-government 2009 revolution
Left home when I was 16. ( to a boarding school in the UK, so it's nothing too exciting), but I like the sound of that :))

Teach, Learn, Share

You'll probably know a lot more about Eastern Europe if you hang out with me. I can also teach you a bit of yoga and electro swing dancing. I'd never refuse a wander out for a session of street photography, followed by a ritual of good coffee.

I'm keen to immerse myself in the culinary tradition of the country I'm visiting, so cooking with my host/their friends over a glass of wine is an ideal evening. I'm greatly interested in finding out more about a country's artistic and musical traditions. So my visit would probably include me visiting art galleries in daytime and bars with live music( jazz bars or electro swing nights are my crowd), and if my host wants to suggest anything, I'd be delighted !

What I Can Share with Hosts

I tend to bring organic chocolate and tea, as a thank you to my host. Happy to spend time cooking a home made meal, sharing my experiences of traveling and living abroad, and generally spending time with my host and their friends.

Of course, the visit is reciprocated, so my host is always welcome to visit me in London when convenient :)

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, India, Italy, Latvia, Moldova, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, Moldova, United Kingdom