My Finnish friends would most probably describe me as a talkative, happy, energetic hippie full of weird ideas. My foreign friends would say that I'm the nice quiet girl from the land of a thousand lakes and Santa Claus. Which one is true? Maybe both of them? You decide.

I finished a MA degree in history in early 2013, concentrating on history of Russia and Eastern Europe, but practically everything concerning different cultures, foreign languages and history interests me... which is why I decided to do a second Master's Degree in Development and International Cooperation, which I finished in 2015. Currently I'm working on my PhD thesis on Soviet international relations during the Cold War. Interesting stuff, I'd say :)

Oh, and can you believe it: I love to travel, too! Russia has a very special place in my heart, as I lived and studied in Yaroslavl 2009-2010 and worked in Moscow 2013-2014 and 2017-2018 experiencing and learning so much. But on the other hand the whole world is an amazing place: for the past ten years or so I have been backpacking a lot around (mostly Eastern) Europe. I have also done a couple of longer journeys to more faraway places, such as Eastern and Southern Africa in November 2010-January 2011 , Southeast Asia in early 2015, and Japan and South Korea in December 2016- January 2017. I lived and studied international politics and Chinese language in Beijing in 2014-2015, did an internship in Athens in spring/summer 2016 and am currently living in Budapest.

Life is amazing, who would've thought that a random girl from Kuopio has all these opportunities to live abroad? Whoa!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

At the moment I'm not able to host, but I will update the information concerning that as soon as I'll settle down somewhere on this planet again...

Meanwhile, I will be more than happy to hangout in Budapest, drinking beer or coffee and either discovering new places in this great city or introducing you my favorite places.

I became a member of CouchSurfing in February 2010. My first CS experience was just a couple of days later in Arkhangelsk, Russia. It was pretty awesome. Since then I've been couchsurfing mostly around Russia, but also elsewhere.

Interests

Traveling, different cultures, foreign languages, history, photography, movies, politics....

• culture
• literature
• photography
• dining
• cooking
• wine
• beer
• politics
• movies
• traveling
• socializing
• music
• backpacking
• history
• international relations
• languages

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies? Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amelie Poulain, Goodbye Lenin, Moscow doesn't believe in tears, Der Himmel uber Berlin, good documentaries and many many more!

Music? Everything from indie to Bollywood soundtracks... Mostly Finnish and Russian stuff, especially singer-songwriters, and good folkish and reggaeish things that make you smile :)

Books? Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov, A Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, Pablo Neruda's Memoirs, Cancer Ward by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Hytti numero 6 by Rosa Liksom, novels by Mika Waltari, works of Lyudmila Ulitskaya and Svetlana Aleksiyevich, short stories by Daniil Kharms, Nikolay Gogol and Wladimir Kaminer, poetry by Vladimir Mayakovskyi. I read a lot and love all kinds of stuff from contemporary Finnish novels to good comics, such as Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I love travelling by train, as something unexpected always happens...

I have ...

...shared vodka, food and stories with random people on pIatskart in trains all over Russia.

...cooked noodles with the Chinese on the overnight trains from Beijing to Chongqing, Guangxi, Yunnan and Sichuan.

....talked about the meaning of life for hours and hours while drinking Kilimanjaro-beer on the TAZARA-train from Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) to Kapiri Mposhi (Zambia).

Small things are the most amazing ones.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach you Finnish or at least some words of it and in return I'm eager to learn more about your country, language and culture. I'm also a decent cook, so I can probably teach you some recipes of the Finnish cuisine. Or recommend Finnish literature or music.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Well, I'm a fairly independent person, so if I have sent you a couch request, you should not worry that I need to be entertained 24/7. I am active and enjoy exploring new cities independently, so I will not stay on your couch all day long without going out. (Though I naturally appreciate all insider tips and your company, if you have time!)

On the other hand I'm always happy to drink wine, beer or tea and discuss my travel experiences while getting to know you. I think CS should not be about staying at someone's place for free, but about socializing and making friends with new people. As mentioned in the teach-learn-share paragraph, I can also share a lot of stuff about my country, culture and language with you :)

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Georgia, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Macao, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Namibia, Netherlands, North Korea, Norway, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, Vatican City State, Viet Nam, Zambia

Countries I’ve Lived In

China, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Russian Federation

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