CURRENT MISSION

To discover the dream

ABOUT ME

I'm a bit of a silly dreamer who constantly has difficulties keeping her feet at the ground. There are quite a number of things I possess passionate love for. Traveling is definitely the salt of my life: Europe is an endless jewel box which I probably never get tired of, but I'm also eager to see rest of the continents. I have spent 6 months as an exchange student (2009-2010) and 5 months as an assistant teacher (2013–2014) in Austria, and that country has taken my heart away for good. I love the glittering lakes and the horizon-reaching forests of my home region, but almost as deep love I grew to feel for the gigantic Alps and the romantic valleys between them. I have also spent a semester in Petrozavodsk, Russia (2012), and ever since that I have been eager to learn more about Russia and the wide range of cultures and languages it hides in itself.

Yes, my other life-time loves are languages and literature. I study Finnish (my native language) at the University of Eastern Finland, and I feel endless love for the mysteries of linguistics and etymology of words. I'm not only keen on the history of languages but also the history of peoples speaking them. I love reading and my favourite kind of books are true stories based on real historical events, but I also like fictional prose and fantasy.

What has been marking my weird personality for more than 12 years now is my love for ski jumping. Thanks belong to my German friend who was in love with Finnish ski jumpers and asked me for articles of them. You can always win me on your side if you have an opinion about what's going on in the ski jumping world cup - or even better, if you need company for one of the competitions! Some of the best experiences ever have been the finals of the Four Hills Tournament in Bischofshofen (AUT) in January 2010, 2013 and 2014 ;)

In addition to the above mentioned things I'm keen on jogging, fitness, wandering in the nature, good movies, rock music, photography, taking care of my cat, swimming.

PHILOSOPHY

I believe things are good if they make people happy, but you should never hurt other people when going for your own happiness. I'm always trying to respect the opinions of other people, but if my opinion differs from them I usually want to tell it. I want to believe, though, that it's usually things that are having the arguments, not the people.

For me life is a serial of new experiences, and what I would like to believe is the fact that every little thing, even a bad one, will teach you something and make you become a better person somehow.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I'm hosting people whenever I have a chance and I also like just going for a cup pf tea or a drink. I have couchsurfed several times during my interrails in 2010 and 2011, a Balkans road trip in 2012, road trips in Austria in 2013 and the USA in 2014, and Trans-Siberian trip in Russia in 2016 – and have had an unforgettable time :) I also like participating meetings!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

What can I say, so far my experiences have been extremely good. I have gotten to see various ways of living and to hear stories so different from mine, but at the same time I have noticed how similar people actually are no matter where you go – that's definitely the salt of the cs :)

All the hosts I have had have been very nice, but I also have two negative experiences which came when the people who already agreed on hosting changed their minds for no reason on the very last minute. That's NOT a part of the cs.

Interests

Languages (Finno-Ugric, German, Russian & more), literature, ski jumping, travelling, photography, Austria, Russia, doing sports, cooking & baking, long breakfasts, drinking tea, beer & wine, cats, Moomins, post cards, history, mountains, forests, lakes, rock music, opera, ballet, theatre, movies.

• cats
• books
• literature
• photography
• cooking
• wine
• beer
• fitness
• movies
• reading
• traveling
• music
• rock music
• opera
• sports
• etymology
• history
• languages
• road trips
• lakes
• mountains
• ski jumping

Music, Movies, and Books

I like rock and metal music, and for years my favourite band has been HIM from Finland. Almost as much as them I like Rammstein, who taught me all the necessary German words even before I started to study the language :D
I also like classical music quite a bit, but that one I don't listen that much at home – I rather enjoy going to the opera or concerts when I have a chance.

My favourite movies, to name but a few, are: Forrest Gump, From Hell, What's eating Gilbert Grabe, Edward Scissorshand, Schindler's List, the Pianist, Populärmusik från Vittula, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Pan's Labyrinth, Howl's Moving Castle, Spirited Away, the Grave of the Fireflies.

I read A LOT, and I have several favourite books, for example "The Kite Runner" and "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini, "The Shadow of the Wind" by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, "Roots" by Alex Hailey, "the Lord of the Flies" by William Golding, "Don Quixote" by Miquel de Cervantes Saavedra; a lot Finnish ones eg. "Täällä Pohjantähden alla" by Väinö Linna and "Seitsemän veljestä" by Aleksis Kivi. Etc. etc. etc.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Seeing the whole Alpine valley and the surrounding mountains for the first time from the height of 2100m in Stubaital, Tirol, Austria. (9/2010)

Waking up on the foot of Mont Blanc. (8/2011)

Sarajevo. (8/2012)

Sleeping 3 nights in a yurt on Mongolian steppe. (8/2016)

Teach, Learn, Share

I'm always willing to learn about foreign languages – and, if you're interested, I'll happily teach you a bit of Finnish which so many people find "weird" and difficult but which is not impossible to learn in the end.

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Austria, Estonia, Finland, Russian Federation