CURRENT MISSION

Ich würde gerne neue Leute in Berlin kennenlernen und mein Deutsch vielleicht verbessern!

ABOUT ME

Ich bin Doktorandin in Literatur an der Universität von Kalifornien in Santa Barbara in den USA. Ich würde gern alle neue Leute kennenlernen, die sich für Bücher, Filme, Kulturwissenschaft, Geschichte, Kunst, Tanz, Theater, usw. interessieren. Ich bin sehr kontaktfreudig und liebe neue Leute kennen zu lernen. Ich würde auch gerne mein Deutsch verbessern...weil fliessend zu sprechen der Hauptgrund meiner Besuch in Deutschland ist! Meine Forschung in Berlin handelt von den räumlichen Aspekte der Kultur, also wenn du gerne mich deiner Bezirk zeigen würde, umso besser!

I am a Comparative Literature PhD student at the University of California - Santa Barbara in the United States. I am interested in meeting anyone who wants to talk books, movies, cultural studies, history, art, dance, theatre, etc. I am very outgoing and love to meet new people. I also would love to improve my German (the main reason I am here!) My research in Berlin also deals with the spatial aspects of culture, so if you are willing to show me around your neighborhood, all the better.

(Some of the sections here I will change to German when I have a second...everyone here seems to speak English, but I really want to work hard to make sure my German improves as well!)

PHILOSOPHY

My entire life revolves around acquiring new cultural understanding. Between language study, literature study, historical study, meeting new people, and travelling frequently, everything comes back to trying to understand all the more fully how people live in this crazy world of ours.

As for a personal philosophy, I can't think of a cliche that fits well but I believe all human beings have the right to be treated with dignity and respect. Racism, Sexism, Homophobia, Fatphobia, Transphobia, Classism, Ableism, and basically all other kinds of oppressive -isms are things which I simply cannot abide.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Ich habe schon eine Wohnung...will nur neute Leute kennenlernen und weiß nicht genau, wie ich solche Leute finden kann.

I don't need an apartment, as I have one already, but I would love to meet all sorts of people so that I can see different parts of the city and have lots of good conversations! It's hard to figure out where one can make friends when one is alone in a new city, but I have high hopes that this way will work out!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Als ich in Russland war, habe ich ein Paar gute Freunde kennengelernt...es war echt toll!

I used couchsurfing for the first time when I was living in St Petersburg and made some great friends, many of whom I am still friends with now. I should use it more often at home in the US, honestly, but I am having a hard time meeting new people in Berlin so I thought this would be a great way to do so.

Interests

Literature, Postmodernism, Literary Theory, Cultural Studies, Independent Music, Film, History, Political History, Dance (especially modern!), Theatre, Art, Photography, Fashion, Contemporary/Modern Dance, Contemporary Art

• arts
• culture
• books
• literature
• theater
• fashion
• contemporary art
• photography
• dancing
• beer
• working out
• clubbing
• movies
• traveling
• music
• swimming
• cultural studies
• history
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

This could get very long-winded very quickly! I'll try to limit myself to a select few of each.

Movies: Amelie, The Virgin Suicides, Lost In Translation, The Darjeeling Limited, Fight Club, Little Miss Sunshine, It's Kind Of A Funny Story, Juno, I Heart Huckabees, Das Leben Der Anderen, Goodbye, Lenin!

Books: It's easier for me to list authors rather than individual books, so...Jeffrey Eugenides, Milan Kundera, Vladimir Nabokov, Bertolt Brecht, Don DeLillo, e.e. cummings, Boris Pasternak, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Anna Akhmatova, Osip Mandelstam, Chuck Klosterman, Kurt Vonnegut, Andre Dubus III

Music: I mostly like indie rock! But I also like a few pop/dance artists because I do really love to dance. Here are a few:
Arcade Fire, The Knife, St Vincent, Neutral Milk Hotel, Radiohead, Hot Chip, Purity Ring, Laura Veirs, Bon Iver, Kraftwerk

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Es gibt so viel! Ich war einmal in Tulum und bin im Meer neben den Ueberreste der Mayan-kultur schwimmen gegangen...das war super!

There are so many, but the first that came to mind was the time I was in Tulum, Mexico for my brother's wedding, and got to swim in the crystal clear waters at a beach covered in Mayan ruins...unbelievable.

Teach, Learn, Share

I know a lot about literature and literary theory, as that is what I study. I also teach first year german in the US (I know, scary, since my German isn't perfect, but plenty good enough to teach the basics). I can also help you with your English language or literature, I used to teach English literature to Germans. I also have basic skills in:

-Sewing
-Raising one's eyebrow seductively
-Dancing (not real dancing, but silly club dancing, for sure)
-Making a really delicious Moscow Mule (with proper ginger beer...NOT ginger ale!)

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Germany, Mexico, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Germany, Russian Federation, United States

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