hii everyone!

I'll be studying abroad for one semester in Pittsburgh, PA from August 2024 - January 2025. This will be my first time outside of Europe, so I'm really looking forward to getting in touch with many new people and traveling around the US! Unfortunately, I cannot host you in Vienna during that time, but we will be able to stay in touch!

I am Hati, 23 years old and I study Socioeconomics at Vienna University of Economics and Business in Vienna, Austria. Socioeconomics is an amazing mix of economics and sociology. Our goal is to understand how the economy is shaped by people and how the economy shapes how people live together. I started observing and trying to understand my environment and the subtle differences very early on. Growing up in a German-Turkish working class family and then being the first in your family going to a grammat school and going to university strengthens your sense of social action and your sense of (structural) inequality. I'm always surprised how much our environment shapes us, whether it's our hometown, our family background or our school. Besides social mobility, my interests are distribution of wealth and income, social and ecological policy and economic history.

My trip to the US will be especially interesting for me as someone who loves sociology and observing the impact of economic systems on society. The US is a country that everyone in the world seems to have an opinion about due to its media presence and cultural hegemony. However, I feel that these opinions often do not take into account the socio-political complexities and differences between the US and European countries. I would like to get to the bottom of these peculiarities, similarities and differences by getting in touch with people living in the USA. I'd like to learn more about you and your experiences! Your perspective will help me understand the world better.

you can find me on insta: @arctichati :)

Por qué estoy en Couchsurfing

Couchsurfing is the perfect platform to meet like-minded people who haven't lost their faith in humanity and prefer solidarity and the reduction of prejudices. This may be an unpopular opinion here, but I appreciate the hospitality of couchsurfing because it gives the less privileged a chance to see the world and learn about new cultures. Don't get me wrong - couchsurfing is not a free hostel alternative and should be used by those who really want to get in touch with new people and cultures. However, as someone who never took a family vacation due to financial poverty and still wants to see more of the world, couchsurfing allowed me to travel around as a young student without having parents who could come with me or financially suppory my trip. It has been the best decision I have ever made! Still, I would love to discuss this topic with you :P

Also, I prefer being a traveler and not a tourist. I want to meet new people, learn about and from other cultures, and experience the world! I'm not trying to escape life with a two-week all-inclusive beach vacation but with meaningful connections

Intereses

interests: anime, concerts, economics, political activism, sociology, video games (currently playing disco elysium and used to play competetive ssbu), weightlifting, yoga

• photography
• concerts
• festivals
• fitness
• politics
• traveling
• sports
• history
• feminism

Música, películas y libros

indie rock, indie pop, alternative, dnb, jazz, rnb

:
- newspaper (Süddeutsche Zeitung, Der Standard, NYT)
- manga: tbd
- fiction: tbd
- non-fiction: tbd
- paper I really liked :D : https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-954X.12280 & https://doi.org/10.1177/00420980221106340

Algo increíble que he hecho

- become politically active at 16 and take part in congresses, summer camps and events as part of the engagement program
- moving to Vienna alone during COVID and building up a social network with the most amazing friends there completely on my own after finishing high school

Enseña, aprende, comparte

- I could give you a short lecture on German and Austrian Politics 101 from a socio-economic perspective.
- I can also show you how to open a beer anywhere without a bottle opener (the first thing Germans learn when they grow up).

Qué puedo ofrecer a los anfitriones

I’ll share my sweets, my wine, random history trivia and funny anecdotes with you. :')

Países que he visitado

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom

Países en los que he vivido

Austria, Germany, United States