My name is Rachel!! And I absolutely adore traveling. Whether it's just down to the library back home or across the seas to St. Patrick's Cathedral I'm happy to go. I just graduated from Vassar College where I majored in (spent a ridiculous amount of time studying) Russian Studies and minored in (still spent a ton of time studying) physics. I'm a big fan of reading, museums, beer, dogs, chocolate, and wine. For my junior fall semester I went abroad and studied in St Petersburg, Russia. That was an AMAZING experience that further fuelled my love of cultural exposure. I just spent 2 months helping out on a farm in Galway, and had a blast meeting the locals and spending time working with my hands.
I should warn you, while I do love to hang out and drink, I'm not big on clubbing or late nights out. That being said, I love music and going to pubs, so I promise not to be too much of an old lady.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I'm on couchsurfing because I think that you'll never really get to know a city or country unless you spend time hanging out with its people. Hosteling is great because you meet loads of people, but the typically aren't locals.
Right now in particular I'm winding my way down through Europe to end up in Croatia where I'm catching a plane home for Christmas!

Interests

I'm a big fan of space. I like stars and the universe and science. I also LOVE DOGS. I played rugby in college, so I'm a pretty avid fan of that as well, though I don't follow any particular teams. Having studied Russian in college, I'm also interested in Russian literature. History also appeals, as do books, museums, and the environment.

• animals
• dogs
• books
• literature
• environment
• recipes
• chocolate
• wine
• beer
• drinking
• clubbing
• pub crawls
• reading
• traveling
• music
• rugby
• history
• physics
• science

Music, Movies, and Books

My favourite movies are: Lord of the Rings, Inception, Much Ado About Nothing (Emma Thompson version), Love Actually...
Books? Oh man. I'm a fan of science fiction, but will pick up most anything. As I mentioned before, I've spent a lot of time reading the Russian classics, and as a result have developed a great fondness for Dostoevsky, Gogol, and Pushkin. At the moment my favourite book is The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien, and I could re-read Jane Austen's Persuasion forever.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

One incredible thing I had the opportunity to do was travel to Europe by myself and then spend two months helping out on a farm in County Galway, Ireland. It was incredible to get to work with the animals, help maintain woodland, and really get to know the locals who do this their whole lives. I hope to be able to do something similar in the future.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can offer you recipes from home, quick Russian (or English!) language lessons, my views (however limited) of the world, and (hopefully) a place to stay in return if you ever come visit me!

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Canada, France, Ireland, Italy, Peru, Russian Federation, Ukraine

Countries I’ve Lived In

Russian Federation, United States