CURRENT MISSION

Enjoy the beautiful Bay Area as much as possible

ABOUT ME

Annika and I met in January '08 when we were both studying in Paris. We started our relationship by getting lost in Père Lachaise. Jim Morrison is our patron saint. Within our first few months of dating, we traveled to 8 countries. We went back to LA together for two years, and we moved to Berkeley in August 2010 so that I could attend law school here. We moved to Oakland in early August 2013.

Annika graduated from university in May 2009 and now works for a company that helps make residential solar energy affordable. I just graduated from law school and recently started a job where I advocate for the rights of transgender people in U.S. immigration prisons.

Annika was born and raised in Seattle, Washington. I was born in the Soviet Union in Belarus. My family came to the US as refugees when I was four years old. I grew up in Omaha, Nebraska.

Before you send us a request, please read our couch info. You're much more likely to get a positive response if you do.

PHILOSOPHY

"Once we realize that things don't have to go right for us to be happy, and people don't have to be perfect to love them, our walk home becomes surprisingly simple."

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

We host lots of Couch Surfers :)

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Full CS Circles (hosted+surfed/visited):
Lauren & Brian (US)
Fran & Helen (UK)
Ish (UK)
Kathleen (UK)
Louise (UK)
Danny (Canada)

We've hosted, so far:
JP (Brazil)
Jenni (Germany)
Michael (Germany)
Anna & Brianna (Florida)
Melwyn (France)
Andreas (Germany)
Julia (Russia)
Sandrine (France)
Mike & Lisa (Austria)
Celine & Audrey (France)
Julien (France)
Shailen & Alisa (New Zealand)
Beth (US)
Sheldon (Brazil)
Marine (France)
Felix (US)
Pascal (France)
Lelde (Latvia)
Natalia (Poland)
Luke (UK)
Mette & Signe (Denmark)
Tiger & Dom (US)
Herve (France)
Peter & Hannes (Germany)
Dren (Kosovo)
Caity (US)
Lucy & Sally (UK)
Magali & Mariana (Canada)
Jessa (US)
Solene & Florent (France/Germany)
(and many many many friends that we met outside of CS)

We surfed with:
Sol in Sacramento
Katy & David in Vancouver
Molly in Berkeley

Also, Canadian border guards searched all our belongings and pockets and questioned us for fifteen minutes because they were convinced that Couch Surfing was a code word for drug smuggling.

Interests

We are both very interested in international politics, queer issues, and intersectional social justice. Some things we believe in: ending drug prohibition, ending gender as a legal category, dismantling the prison industrial complex, ending deportations, making life sparkly, and the importance of comfy beds and blankets.

We obviously love traveling, languages, and international cuisine.

We love music! We're currently building our vinyl record collection. We have about 500 records.

We also love fancy tea, sangria, food of all sorts, street art, tattoos, California, and stickers.

• arts
• street art
• documentaries
• tattoos
• concerts
• dining
• wine
• drinking
• politics
• traveling
• blogging
• coding
• music
• surfing
• languages
• law

Music, Movies, and Books

Music
Olga: Neutral Milk Hotel, The Magnetic Fields, The National, Los Campesinos!. Modern Lovers, Blondie, The Libertines, Leonard Cohen, Velvet Underground, Bob Dylan, The Doors, The Hold Steady, The Smiths, Fleet Foxes, Arcade Fire, The Cure, Beirut, Panda Bear, The Strokes, New Order, The Thermals

Annika: my favorite genres are jangle pop, twee, shoegaze, and dream pop. Some of my favorite artists include: The Smiths, Belle & Sebastian, Wild Nothing, Françoise Hardy, Black Tambourine, The Velvet Underground, My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Tame Impala, David Bowie, Kraftwerk, Deerhunter, Real Estate, and the Pains of Being Pure at Heart.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Going to a sunrise Bon Iver concert at a cemetery for silent film stars in Hollywood. We arrived at midnight. Camped out in a field in the middle of the cemetery with about a dozen friends and thousands of other people while drinking wine, smoking hookah, and talking all night. We watched a Planet Earth documentary as the thickest fog ever rolled in. Then, at dawn we were awoken by chanting Buddhist monks. Finally, the band played.

Teach, Learn, Share

See my occasionally updated list of travel recommendations:
http://littleolgabigworld.wordpress.com/

And Annika's blog:
http://annikapenelope.tumblr.com

Countries I’ve Visited

Aruba, Austria, Bahamas, Belarus, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Russian Federation, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Belarus, France, United Kingdom, United States

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