Rus and Freya. Father and Daughter. Two free spirits met here on earth during these turbulent times to fulfill their visions. To teach each other. To support each other. To truly Love each other.

Through his rich life experiences (including 10 years of bike touring) Rus has discovered that educating (upbringing) children is probably the most important and rewarding task a person could perform as an adult. It could be the role of a parent or teacher/ instructor. It doesn't really matter. What matters is an approach and attitude as well as realizing a full responsibility for the process. Thus, he concentrates on the worldschooling of Freya, which is his highest priority for the time being.

Rus (full name Ruslan) is a savvy and active individual in spite of his age. Born during the USSR era in Kiev, he served in the Soviet Army and received a good education. In 1999 he completed a 2 year MBA in finance program in the US. Then worked in venture capital and various management positions both in Kiev and Moscow. In 2005 he quit his career to pursue new challenges in China. He lived on the Chinese east coast mainly doing export business. Later he founded his own web company, the trade forum for Russia-China business relations. After 10+ years in China he sold his business and moved to Thailand to pursue new opportunities. In 2022 he moved with his family to Iceland.

During his life in China and Thailand he traveled extensively around the world on a bicycle. Since starting in 2009, he cycled 30,000+ km through Asia, Africa and Europe. Many times he used Couchsurfing and Warmshowers both as a host and a guest. He was a host in a coliving space in Shanghai through Workaway.

He has five children: three sons (27, 17, 2) and two daughters (32, 2). He currently resides in Iceland with his younger daughter Freya who is joining him during their worldschooling adventure in Sept 2024. He has a strong zeal and appreciation for manual labor outdoors connecting with elements of nature, particularly earth and fire. He has profound knowledge in many aspects of life. He is an excellent cook and particularly good with children and animals. His prime interest is alternative education of children.

Freya (2.5 yo) was born in Thailand. She is a healthy and active child, keen to learn all new things in life. She is accustomed to being outdoors and experiencing low temperatures. One year ago she spent 2 months traveling from the west to the east of Iceland staying in a tent. For the last ten months she lived in a farmhouse in eastern Iceland. She loves animals, especially horses, cats and dogs.

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During our worldschooling trip we prefer to find hosts who are comfortable with small children. Primarily, for educational and cultural exchange (of course, Africa's bike stories are a bonus). We have our tent and rather stay in rural areas spending most of our time outdoors.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Enjoy meeting people, share experiences

Interests

Raising kids, foreign languages, bike touring

• childrens rights
• traveling
• cycling
• languages
• children
• kids
• children education
• kids education

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I am a father of 5 human beings

Countries I’ve Visited

Armenia, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Georgia, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Spain, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia

Countries I’ve Lived In

China, Iceland, Russian Federation, Thailand, United States