CURRENT MISSION

to stay happy, healthy, and sane while living in moscow. and to speak russian at a higher level than the average russian 4-year-old.

ABOUT ME

a third-year student at the university of california at berkeley, I enjoy hosting dinner parties with my friends, eating Indian food, discovering new music, and studying foreign languages. I have a penchant for Slavic culture and languages, which is why I'm majoring in Russian Language/Literature with a minor in Linguistics. After I graduate I'd like to work as a schoolteacher, hopefully in a setting where I could continue speaking Russian.

PHILOSOPHY

i live my life to meet funny, humble people. if it's one thing i've learned after striking out on my own and studying abroad for a semester in a radically foreign country, it's that life is quite dreary without people to share it with who have a good sense of humor.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I'm currently studying abroad in Moscow and am planning on doing some traveling soon with friends. Our destinations include St. Petersburg, Helsinki, Stockholm, and Talin. We all love the idea of couchsurfing, and hopefully when I return to Berkeley in the spring I'll be able to host some fellow travelers myself.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

so far I'm completely new to this CouchSurfing thing. when I have stories, I'll be sure to post them here!

Interests

speaking russian, baking pies and cookies, knitting, gypsy music, kayaking, making snow people, reading in the bathtub or in bed

• culture
• literature
• dining
• indian food
• baking
• partying
• reading
• traveling
• knitting
• music
• kayaking
• languages

Music, Movies, and Books

books by roald dahl
other favorite books: the house on the embankment, the sparrow, fahrenheit 451, one day in the life of ivan denisovich, master & margarita, we.

music by cut copy, new order, the radio dept., beirut, the cranberries, mason jennings, feist, peter gabriel, dave brubeck, paul desmond, stan getz, joao gilberto, antonio carlos jobim, seu jorge, cesaria evora, miriam makeba, hugh masekela, MSTRKRFT, chromeo, caribou, cocorosie, animal collective, panda bear, sigur ros, kino, auktyon.

movies:
roman holiday, rear window, wait until dark, pelisky, rushmore, the royal tenenbaums, grey gardens, emma, to kill a mockingbird, the sound of music

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

one time when I was seven years old, I ate ten large waffles in one sitting.

Teach, Learn, Share

language! any little words or phrases or colloquialisms I can learn in another language. that would be enough for me. in return, I'm afraid I have a very meager repertoire of languages to exchange. I speak English fluently, but since everyone seems to speak English these days, I have doubts about its value as a bartering tool.