CURRENT MISSION

Living in Peace

ABOUT ME

The most important thing about me (Kristin) is that I love Diana. Next most important thing is that Diana loves me. All the rest is irrelevant.

PHILOSOPHY

I choose to live my life in the belief that change is constant and it doesn't take much to get it rolling. I want to BE THE CHANGE I WISH TO SEE IN THE WORLD. I IMAGINE ALL THE PEOPLE LIVING LIFE IN PEACE. I beleive in the power of compassion to transform. I belive that peace is a verb, not a noun. It is not a state of being only, but also a way of living. It is active. It is not only NOT doing harm, but also stopping harm when you see it happening, or helping to create conditions where harm does not occur. It is not only quiet, but also fierce. I want to be fierce in my compassion, and strong in my peace. I want to be a voice in the chaos, the calm in the struggle.

We must not only hope to “achieve enlightment for the benefit of all sentient beings”, but also hope that through our actions, other people may have the space, the strength, the food, the lack of violence, the health, the clean water, the self-love, the hope, to be able to dream of their own enlightenment, and even further, want to reach out beyond the apathy of the struggle to help someone else in their struggle.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

So far it has been great! We've met amazing people and now have friends (almost) all over the world!

Interests

Travel, peace, social justice, personal growth, love, tolerance, movies, art, dance, new people, going to dentists, dogs, eating corn on the cob, selling and buying crap online

• animals
• dogs
• arts
• theater
• photography
• dancing
• dining
• cooking
• yoga
• meditation
• movies
• traveling
• knitting
• buddhist
• social work
• volunteering

Music, Movies, and Books

MOVIES: LOTR, Napoleon Dynamite, Spanglish, Notting Hill, Wicker Park, Closer, Pride & Prejudice, In the Mood for Love, Vier Minuten, Hotel Rwanda, Juno, Das Leben der Anderen, Color Purple, Human Traffic, 24 Hour Party People, Kundun, Love Actually, Shawshank Redemption, Beautiful Thing, Beautiful Mind, etc.

MUSIC: Explosions in the Sky, Radiohead, Joy Division, Masters At Work, Dubtribe, Deep dish, Bach, Nina Simone, Sara Vaughn, Billie Holiday, Cure, D'Angelo, The Smiths, My Bloody Valentine, Lush, Ride, Etta James, Aphex Twin, Bill Withers, Nick Drake, Bjork, Silversun Pickups, Operation Ivy, Fugazi, Death Cab for Cutie, Air, Stardust, Radiohead, Layo and Bushwacka, SCSI-9, Moby, Moloko, Daft Punk, Orbital, Underworld, Дельфин, Земфира, Booka Shade, Manu Chao, Belle and Sebastian, Ludovico Einaudi, Mylo ...I could go on and on...

BOOKS: Anything by Dorothy Dunnett, Winnie the Pooh, Kartograhy (Kamila Shamsie), Shantaram, LOTR, Цветаева, Cesar's Way, Бойцовский клуб, Одиночество в сети, Осиная Фабрика, science fiction

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Have found out that if you pull on a leash of a pug, their eyes might pop out and you have to put them back in asap! (Diana)

I have seen an elephant do a handstand, which left me a little breathless and confused. (how did it do that? how did it practice? how poorly do you have to treat an animal that large to get it to be willing to stand on its front feet? what is the elephant thinking while it is standing on its hands? how should i feel about this?) (kristin)

Teach, Learn, Share

KRISTIN
I am interested in learning everything I can... I have studied yoga, buddhism, meditation, I can knit, cook, I have a degree in Theater and Photography, but have worked as a social worker and client advocate against domestic violence and sexual assault. I have worked with victims of many kinds of violence, including human trafficking, child labor and torture. I have finished my service as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Kazakhstan and got a Masters degree after that. At the moment I work at a New York-based NGO.

DIANA
I can teach you how to say "My name is ...; I came in peace; I don't believe in god" in Russian.
You can teach me how to say the same thing in a different language.
We can share this with other couchsurfers!

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, Cambodia, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Portugal, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Kazakhstan, United Kingdom, United States