CURRENT MISSION

Trying to balance my free-spirited inner child with the emerging contemplative adult. Any suggestions?

ABOUT ME

I'm a lively, curious person. I'm open to new people and new experiences, even if sometimes I need a little time to process new situations. I try to be true to myself and honest but kind with others. I enjoy spontaneity and adventure, sometimes at the expense of structure and preparation. I'm constantly playing with all these things, tweaking, hacking, hoping to find the right balance.

PHILOSOPHY

Cultivating the beginner's mind - trying to be always open to new people and new experiences, attempting to
"try on" another person's worldview to see its value and better understand the person

我为什么加入 Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I took my first big trip last summer, and was lucky enough to surf with some amazing people in Spain and Italy. Because of these great hosts, I got to experience the less touristy, the more authentic sides of these places, got to absorb the natural lives of these cities, their everyday rhythms. This was a very gratifying experience.
On the other hand, I live in beautiful Boulder, CO, which offers tons of outdoors activities, like hiking, rock climbing, mountain biking, and cycling in the summer and skiing/snowboarding in the winter. Boulder has a lively artsy downtown and a longstanding spirit of environmental stewardship. I'm hoping to share the beauty of Boulder with other couchsurfers.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

My experience with Couchsurfing has been very positive so far. I got to experience the everyday lives of great places through the help of very gracious hosts.

兴趣

I love patterns, and I love finding them. Whether it's patterns in architecture or linguistics, in data mining or interpersonal psychology, and even individual emotional/behavioral patterns - they tickle my mind and elevate my emotions.
I also thoroughly enjoy people - watching them, getting to know them, trying to figure out what makes them tick, what opens up their heart, and, of course, making each other laugh and just the experience of togetherness.
As someone who moved across the world in the late teens, I'm fascinated by different cultures, their similarities and differences. The immigrant perspective gives me a bit of an insider/outsider lens, a cross-cultural perspective, which I find very rewarding.
Resulting from all the above, I'm a computer geek who's interested in social issues and questions. So I'm in a graduate program in Computer Science, hoping to use modeling and data mining tools to better understand society. I know, pretty out there!

• dogs
• architecture
• design
• beauty
• modeling
• bouldering
• outdoor activities
• cycling
• hiking
• skiing
• snowboarding
• rock climbing
• computer science
• psychology
• science
• mountains

音乐、电影和书籍

Too many to list. I'll happily reread anything by Herman Hesse, Eric Marina Remarque, and the Strugatski brothers. My favorite book is probably Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov, and I enjoy other examples of Magical Realism. You can also catch me reading anything by Anthony De Mello, Paolo Coelho, and Olga Asaulyak.
As for movies, I enjoy various genres, but especially quirky, offbeat comedies like those of Wes Anderson or more cynical ones like those by the Cohen brothers. On the more serious note, I love everything directed by Stanley Kubrick and anything written by Andy Kaufman. And of course I adore those wonderfully warm old Soviet movies, especially the black and white ones.
In music, I'm open to most things, but I especially enjoy blues, jazz, and the world music.

我做过的一件不可思议的事情

Standing at the top of the Grand Canyon was a completely breathtaking experience. I felt very small next to that grandeur, but somehow still very part of it, related to it, home within it, and thus great by association. I had a similar feeling as a kid when I saw the Caucasus mountains for the first time.

教，学，和分享

I can teach some Russian or Ukrainian, and potentially some basic computer programming. Also, survey design and statistical analysis of the resulting data.
I also have good dog training/dog behavior skills, so I can help with that.

我游览过的国家

Brazil, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Poland, Spain, Ukraine, United States

我居住过的国家

Ukraine, United States