CURRENT MISSION

I'm in Vladimir to take language courses this summer. I have a place to live but don't know anyone in the city. I'm looking for FRIENDS ONLY! I would love to meet other young women to hang out and chat.

Я провожу лето во Владимире, участвую в языковых курсах в городе. У меня уже есть жилье, но в городе я пока никого не знаю. Ищу добрых людей (особенно других женщин моего возраста) за разговор и дружбы. Я ТОЛЬКО ИЩУ ДРУЗЕЙ! Романтических отношений не хочется. Если у нас особые интересы, то это даже лучше.

ABOUT ME:

I'm a PhD student in Philology (Russian literature is my specialty) at UC Berkeley, living in North Oakland. I love languages, history, and learning about new cultures and have lived abroad in Cologne, Germany and various parts of Russia (Moscow, Kamchatka, Ufa). I like to think I'm pretty chill. In my free time, I like searching for free things to do: lectures, exhibits, cool flea markets, movie screenings, etc. Sometimes I like to get out to the mountains and hike or explore caves, or do low-key camping. I'm more of a pub girl than a club girl--I don't love to stay out super late, but hanging out at a bar and getting to know people with a beer in hand is a great way to spend a Friday night. Live music is always a plus (and Karaoke when I'm feeling silly). I love dogs and have a chihuahua dachshund mix named Leah. Personality-wise I can come off as quiet in big groups, but I really love to talk once you get me in a small-group or one-on-one. Ask any of my host families :)

PHILOSOPHY

I try to live life with an open mind and heart and to learn from my own and others' experiences. Life is an adventure and the people we meet along the way are a crucial part of that.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I'm assuming this means participation in the Couchsurfing community. I'm really interested in making this as much of a cultural exchange as possible. When surfing, I want to definitely get to know my hosts and will pretty much go along with whatever they choose to offer (as I said, I'm not a wild party girl, so I probably wouldn't be the best person to stay out til morning with). Unfortunately on my side, I live with a roommate and she is not comfortable with hosting couchsurfers. I'm hoping to convince her at some point, but until then, I'm happy to meet you for a drink or coffee and show you around the East Bay (and maybe part of San Francisco)! Here in Prague (and when I travel this time), I'm more interested in the social groups of couch surfing. Looking forward to group events or getting coffee with nice people.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I spent a lot of time couchsurfing around Italy and Germany two years ago when I was working as an Au Pair. During that time, I attended couchsurfing meetups, maintained pen friendships with some hosts, and made a new friend through the CS group in my home city. I've also done a little bit of couchsurfing here in the US, but haven't used it as often. I'm hoping to get more involved with the local couchsurfing community. As a former exchange student, much of my travel experience abroad has relied on friendly people who were willing to open their homes and lives to me from any time between a few days and 4.5 months. As a Rotary exchange student, we were encouraged to use the Rotary network as we traveled, so I stayed with families from as diverse places as Siberian villages to a wealthy Vladivostok suburb, to a Moscow apartment with a woman who had lived through German occupation during WWII. The best was probably a stay with a friend in her family's home in an ex-collective farm. Her father had built the home himself and everything from the vegetables, to the meat, to the sour cream was made there. I really felt like I got a taste of Russian village life and got to know really kind people to boot. This is my favorite part of a Couchsurfing-type experience. You are not only sleeping somewhere for the night, but getting to know all sorts of people who can really show you their home as locals, not tourists. I want to be able to offer that to people traveling to the United States as well (when I have my own place/couch to offer!)

Interests

language-learning, board games, cooking (esp. Italian cuisine), flea-markets/antiques, low-key hiking and camping (I'm not a mountaineer, but like the fresh air and starry skies!), art, pottery, good-quality wine, beer, or bourbon, knitting and crafts in general, 20th century history, especially cultural history, singing/guitar, dogs, road trips, americana music.

• dogs
• arts
• culture
• writing
• perfumes
• dining
• cooking
• recipes
• wine
• cheese
• beer
• coffee
• meditation
• partying
• drinking
• clubbing
• pub crawls
• crafts
• board games
• traveling
• pottery
• knitting
• music
• live music
• rock music
• karaoke
• hiking
• camping
• mountaineering
• surfing
• history
• languages
• road trips
• au-pair
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: changes daily. The Godfather, Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears, Goodbye Lenin, Adventureland, The Hours, Best in Show, To Kill a Mockingbird, Brat, Breakfast at Tiffany's, The Children's Hour, Rope, The Graduate, Thelma and Louise, and many more

Music: Americana (that combination of folk, rock, bluegrass, country, blues), classic rock, Russian rock (Zemfira, Kino, DDT, Splin), alt-country, Indie rock, garage/grunge, any fierce women singer/songwriters with guitars or pianos ;) (favorites: Neko Case, Torres, Tori Amos, Brandi Carlile, Indigo Girls,etc.)

Books: Russian lit (Chekhov, Bulgakov, Tolstoi, Mayakovsky), Nick Hornby, Jeanette Winterson, Dickens, Twain, Sylvia Plath, Alice Walker, Jeffrey Eugenedes. To Kill a Mockingbird, The Secret Garden, The Hours, Oranges are Not the Only Fruit, Master and Margarita, War and Peace, Harry Potter, Stieg Larsson, The Golden Compass, The Price of Salt, The Talented Mr. Ripley

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Eating reindeer for Christmas dinner in a tiny village of reindeer herders in the northern Kamchatka peninsula.

Teach, Learn, Share

Share: knitting lessons? a crash course in Russian cooking? A pair of eyes to look at your writing in English? A tea drinking buddy?

Learn: I am very interested in learning new art/craft techniques, anything about meditation, local rock music, local queer culture.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I would love to cook American food for you (or some Italian and Greek family recipes). I make great mac n cheese, biscuits, and lasagna. I'm also happy to share skills such as speaking Russian, knitting, etc. I am happy to do my share of cleaning up and pitch in for food.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Canada, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Czech Republic, Germany, Kyrgyzstan, Russian Federation, United States