CURRENT MISSION

learn russian and kazakh. understand kazakhstan.

ABOUT ME

At around the age of 8, I realized I was a nomad and didn't want to really be tied down to any one location. However, doing the round the world trip thing in a month/year etc thing is too tiring. (Am I starting to slow down? I sure hope not!) I prefer actually to live in a place for 2 years to get to know it really well and to do short term excursions from wherever I may be.

NOTE: I am not Kazakh, I do not speak Russian fluently or Kazakh at all. Just like you, I am curious about this culture and these people. Just like you, I am here to learn. Please bear that in mind when messaging me because I do not want to disappoint you if you had any such expectations. Sorry!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I like learning about cultures, and I'm happy to show anyone around who may want an "inside"/expat perspective on things.

Interests

I love meeting new people and learning about their lives and passions, what keeps them going.

More academically, language is very important to me. The correlations between a language's society and syntax are very intriguing. On an extremely strange level, I think that the way you speak sheds light on your personality and desires.

And as a traveler, I like doing touristy things sometimes, such as going to very, very strange museums. I liked the French fry museum in Brussels -- I never knew so much about potatoes! And there's a saltfish museum in Iceland too! Excitement!

• culture
• books
• dining
• cooking
• music
• live music
• hiking
• languages
• travel

Music, Movies, and Books

I love all music, but live music is the best! I'm always on the lookout for a concert somewhere, and hopefully one that is cheap.

Movies aren't really my thing. You have to threaten to pull all of my teeth out before I'll agree to watch a movie with you. And you have to be serious about your threats. Having said that, I tend to like movies with dark characters and themes.

I read a lot of dead Russian authors... in English.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

2hr hike from the northern to southern tip of Lamma Island. It's the only lush green paradise left that's part of Hong Kong.

Going rock climbing for the first time, then realizing you don't know how to get down b/c you don't understand the directions being shouted at you in a foreign language. Maybe not so fun after all.

Watching an extremely kempt and coiffed man, ascot tie and a handkerchief in his blazer chest pocket and all, help a NYC cab driver push his stalled car out of oncoming traffic in SoHo.

Hiking southern Iceland for a week straight. Blueberry skyr and cream. Icelandic hotpots. Not getting close enough to an active volcano.

Mosh pits.

Teach, Learn, Share

For me, leaving a place is what I do best, so from couchsurfing, I hope to learn what draws people to a certain place.

I can teach some modular origami and random idioms in various languages. :D

What I Can Share with Hosts

I've been told I cook rather well. I'm not sure if it's because people are too polite to tell me the truth or if the truth serum that I've slipped in to their food is working.

I'll probably have a card-based version of a board game with me, if you're interested.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Austria, Belgium, China, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Hong Kong, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Thailand, United States, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, Kazakhstan, United States

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