CURRENT MISSION

Still figuring that out.

ABOUT ME

Born in Ukraine, grew up in New York. I am an archivist with a fascination for history. Currently working in the United Nations.

PHILOSOPHY

"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness... Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime"

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I hosted a number of people and have interacted with lots of couch surfers during my travels.

Unfortunately I recently lost my apartment and cannot offer to host but hopefully will be able to do so in the future.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

So far very positive.

Interests

History, reading, walking, wandering, looking, traveling, other stuff.

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: After Life, Everything is Illuminated, Brat(Brother),Ravenous, Woman in the Dunes, City of God, City of Men, All Quiet on the Western Front, Amelie, Dersu Urzala, Siberiade, Kung Fu Hustle, The Great Dictator, The Simpsons, Futurama, South Park. Most things on Adult Swim

Music: Mumij Troll, DDT, Smyslovie Galiutsitatsii, Zemfira, The Killers, Vysotsky, Gogol Bordello, Devotchka, The Beatles, Billy Joel, Queen, Yann Tiersen, Buddy Holly.

Books: The Day Last Longer Than a Century (Aitmativ) Stories by Hauff, Herotodus, Plutarch, Dumas, Mark Twain, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Maupassant, Camus, The Good Soldier Shvejk(Hasek), Lost Cosmonaut (Kalder), Chasing the Sea (Bissell)

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Trans-Siberian and the Karakorum Highway would have to be on the list.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can tell you some of the interesting New York history. For example, when you're walking down Broadway and East 11th, stop and look around. When the New York was making the city grid, the guy who used to live in the house there refused to sell his house. He tied a bear next to his property to ward-off the city planners! Apparently the plan worked and the map was redrawn going around the house. To this day East 11th ends in a dead end at Broadway where the man's house used to be. His son sold the property for the construction of Grace Church which currently occupies the spot. I can also give pretty good tours of the United Nations and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, United Kingdom, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

Ukraine, United States

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