I was born in Kiev, Ukraine and immigrated to San Francisco, CA with my grandparents in 1989, microseconds before the collapse of the Soviet Union. I became an avid traveler in college and CS certainly helped a simple obsession become a rich way of life for a long while. I am now living in Brooklyn and until July, had been working as a community doctor specializing in HIV, transgender medicine, and general primary care - super fascinating and unreal stuff. But the travel bug, which has patient with me for a decade, has recently beckoned me to the road again. I have recently quit my job and am traveling around Europe (Georgia, Cyprus, Sweden, and now Scotland) until the next phase of my life reveals itself to me.

PHILOSOPHY

Here i quote my mama: "don't save for tomorrow what you can eat today."

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

After living with my first CSer (Joana) for 3 months in Lisboa, I strapped on my trusty backpack to give Europe a 7 week whirl. I couchsurfed most of the way and can´t imagine a better way to see the spirit of a city, taste its most authentic flavors, and foster more fascinating conversations that through CS. I became an avid host when I moved to New York but have largely faded from CS over the past several years. I think I'm feeling settled enough in my life here to give it another whirl...

Interests

I'm becoming more and more introspective, with increasing focus going toward meditation, self-awareness, time in nature, time in reflection. My conversations, as a result, are becoming deeper and more soulful. It's been an interesting evolution. One I like to share with friends new and old.

• cooking
• breakfast
• meditation
• traveling
• backpacking
• medicine

Music, Movies, and Books

Too numerous to list

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

TRAVEL!!! The stars were smiling down upon me that day, in 1999, when I first set out for Ecuador! Little did i know that a then-spooky adventure would turn into a way of life :-)

What I Can Share with Hosts

If you have a cast-iron skillet, i will cook you a KILLER breakfast.

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Laos, Morocco, Mozambique, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Poland, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Brazil, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Italy, Portugal, Senegal, Ukraine, United States

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