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I am an engineer and a pilot, an amateur beach bum, anything-aviation-nerd and a wanna-be runner (as in ‘I wanna go for a run but don’t really feel like it’).

My super power is making ice cream disappear. I have also started making my own during this pandemic, after attending the Gelato University in Italy (yes, it is real!)

And sometimes I quit my job and go travel - jetting around the world in business class for almost free with my miles and points for years at a time.

All 50 states and territories of the US, all countries in Europe, and 120+ countries overall across all contients. I might have an addiction... But I’m guessing so do you if you are on couchsurfing.

Originally from Ukraine, I’ve lived in six states before finally making it out to west coast/best coast. After two years on the road, I’m back to my favorite place in San Diego and hosting again.

I have never been able to stick with one or two things, so I am always looking for something new to learn and to do. I think traveling is a great way to accomplish just that as well as meet all kinds of people and make new friends.

My one-day-I'll-have-time-to-write wannabe blog: www.notsupposedto.com

Instagram with lots more pictures: www.instagram.com/notsupposedto

Facebook (I check it about once a month so don’t y’all start writing me there): www.facebook.com/notsupposedto

Flightmemory: my.flightmemory.com/notsupposedto

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I love meeting people and making new friends just as much as I hate following the tourist crowds with Lonely Planet in hand. So I try to escape that by staying and meeting up with the locals as well as showing my surfers around the spots not usually covered by those guides.

Since I started with a trip to Europe in 2009, I've hosted 80+ surfers and surfed with 50+ hosts while meeting up with countless others at events and group gatherings. I love to swap travel stories and get ideas for my next adventures - a great way to feed the travel "bug" :)

Interests

Traveling, flying and anything that has to do with aviation, working out, hiking, scuba diving, chilling on a beach, getting away from the grind/out of the rat race and following your passion, running your own business, sports, especially soccer and beach volleyball, racing sail boats, scuba diving, running half marathons, paintball, poker and the list goes on.

What I'm NOT interested in: chasing "American dream", clubbing, drunken parties, celebrity/TV series gossip, video games, crowds, most American sports.

• photography
• coffee
• running
• working out
• flying
• aviation
• hiking
• camping
• scuba diving
• soccer
• road trips
• beaches
• airplanes
• beach volleyball
• ping pong
• travel hacking
• aircraft
• personal finance
• online business
• air traffic control
• personal training
• mojitos

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: The Thomas Crown Affair, The Last Samurai, Top Gun, Matrix, Catch Me If You Can, The Illusionist, Spy Game, 21, Office Space, The Sting series with Paul Newman

Books: The Little Prince, The Elegant Universe, Who Moved My Cheese, 4 Hour Workweek, The Art of Nonconformity, The Hero Workbook, anything by Mayne Reid and Donald Hamilton

Music: Will listen to pretty much anything. More of a rock and pop fan, but have endured 8 straight hours of country as well as a few nights at techno clubs.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Hanging out with penguins in Antarctica. Standing at the bottom of Everest and on top of Kilimanjaro. Running the original marathon from Marathon to Athens (and surviving, unlike that first chap). Diving with the Great White sharks and paragliding with an Egyptian vulture. Watching the last sunset on the planet in American Samoa and greeting sunrise on top of Mt. Fuji. Pyramids in Mexico, Angkor temples in Cambodia, the Grand Canyon, the Badlands, snowmobiling around Yellowstone, Luang Prabang sunsets, island hopping around El Nido, road tripping at the bottom of the world in New Zealand and Tasmania as well as the “Roof of the World” along the Pamir highway in Tajikistan, ziplining through the morning mist in Bokeo reserve, rooftop bar hopping in Bangkok, pulling right up to a leopard and two cubs at Kruger National Park in South Africa, making out with a giraffe in Kenya, skydiving, bungy jumping in New Zealand, scubadiving at the Great Barrier Reef, flying search and rescue missions with the Civil Air Patrol (and any other flying for that matter)... "One thing" is not enough.

Teach, Learn, Share

I am interested in lots of things so I can tell you a little bit about a lot. How do airplanes fly? How to book amazing flight itineraries with points? Why oatmeal and breakfast cereal are some of the worst foods for you? What's the proper way to run? Anything you want to know about the few countries I visited so far? Just ask. :)

What I Can Share with Hosts

Hmm, I guess the same as above? I don't discriminate between hosts and surfers...

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, American Samoa, Andorra, Antarctica, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, China, Colombia, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, England, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, French Polynesia, Georgia, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Japan, Jersey, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macao, Macedonia, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mexico, Micronesia, Federated States of, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Myanmar, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Northern Mariana Islands, Norway, Palau, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin (French part), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Scotland, Serbia, Singapore, Sint Maarten (Dutch part), Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Svalbard and Jan Mayen, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, United States Minor Outlying Islands, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vatican City State, Viet Nam, Virgin Islands, British, Virgin Islands, U.S., Wales, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Countries I’ve Lived In

Russian Federation, Ukraine, United States

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