Though originally from Russia, I live and study in Bergen. Back in Russia I'd graduated from a university, worked as a translator and a teacher for a while, but after all decided to try my luck in a different environment, that is in Norway.

I have now finally managed to get into an art school here in Bergen, something I have long wanted to do, so all of a sudden my life is not about reading books and writing papers anymore, but about seeing lights and shadows, mixing paint and setting up sculptures in nature. I absolutely love it.

I am a believer that we are what we eat so thought I would mention my food preferences here as well. After years of avoiding the dark thoughts around my meat-eating habits, in summer 2014 I went vegan and don't regret it a bit. I think it is important to mention this here, since it is something I am as a fresh vegan like to talk about - A LOT. All that food that I hadn't tasted before is just too awesome! I wish I had started earlier.

Oh, and while I am at it. It is not uncommon to make meals together, so whether I am surfing or hosting, I will always appreciate if we could share a vegan meal. You can use our kitchen to prepare meals, but I prefer to keep my pots and pans away from non-vegan foods, so please keep this in mind.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I love listening to stories, asking questions and getting inspiration!

I know that staying in Bergen is pricey, but I don't aim to be a free hotel for anyone who wants to save some money, so if I get a request that is a clear copy-paste sent to dozens of others, I will most likely decline without explanation. Please, tell me why you think we could connect in one way or another.

I live in a shared flat, and therefore I would prefer to receive your requests a little in advance, but if you find yourself in a difficult situation, I might help you out, as long as you let me know what went wrong.
I need to be able to rely on my guest to be respectful of our arrangements, keep the place clean and be quiet at night (snoring, coughing and sneezing is okay ;)).

I've met some really great people here, and there are a few I wish to meet again one day. I intend on keeping it that way! :)

Interests

Food-making, yoga, photography, all kinds of art, typography, printmaking, sketching, drawing and painting, traveling, cycling, hiking, reading and learning new things and people and the last but not the least, cross stitching and sewing.

Did I forget to mention music? Yes, I did. So here it comes: MUSIC. Can't live without it.

• arts
• writing
• books
• photography
• sketching
• environment
• dining
• vegan
• yoga
• movies
• reading
• traveling
• knitting
• painting
• drawing
• music
• cycling
• hiking
• surfing
• snowboarding
• teaching
• languages

Music, Movies, and Books

Well, there are many of them. Here are some that come to my mind at once.

Books: Naiv. Super by Erlend Loe, Blind Faith by B. Elton, Making History by Stephen Fry, Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Movies: Den brysomme mannen, Ghost world, Schindler's list, Electric Shadows, Moon, Requiem for a dream, Never let me go and many others.

Music: Hecq, Yann Tiersen, UNKLE, Blonde Redhead, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Pink Floyd, Ane Brun, Air, R.E.M., Incubus, Massive Attack, Katie Melua, Aimee Mann, Norah Jones, Oasis, Simon & Garfunkel, Erik Mongrain, Loscil, Ulver, 16 Horsepower, Wovenhand,Nina Simone
Or just check out my Last.fm profile: http://www.last.fm/user/oranjazz

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Visited a haunted house all on my own.

Went snowboarding on a glacier in June.

Traveled alone on/with my bike for 6 weeks in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and France, where I
- met amazing people on the way,
- sang songs aloud in the empty country roads of all these countries,
- fought the winds,
- made a cake in the woods for my own birthday,
- watched kitesurfers in Denmark,
- seeing our galaxy with the naked eye (unless I was hallucinating, but even then it was pretty damn amazing).

Teach, Learn, Share

I'd like to learn pretty much anything! New books, new music, new films, travel stories, new languages (next up - Italian!). Different/uncommon angles of looking at things is what I am interested in as well.

If you share your favourite recipe with me, you'll get me jumping up and down and clapping hands.

In return, I can teach you some artsy doodling, a few Russian words (or Norwegian for that matter) and how to survive in Bergen.
If I am in the right mood I can start blabbering about art and languages.

Countries I’ve Visited

Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Netherlands, Palestine, Poland, Russian Federation, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine

Countries I’ve Lived In

Norway, Russian Federation

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