Usually I would be happy to host you and show you around in Saint Petersburg, but currently I'm getting my master's degree in Besançon, so you're welcome to stay with me here.

Russia is a quite weird and controversial place now, I do hope to break some of your fears or stereotypes about it

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Apparently because it's the best source to find the most open-minded locals and to fully experience their city (as people are those who make a city what it actually is)

Interests

I'm an Art Historian with two degrees: one from a Saint Petersburg - Bard College joint universities' program, and another one from Sewanee, the University of the South.

My main art interests are Northern Renaissance, Medieval manuscripts, 17th-century Dutch art, Russian avant-garde and all Natalia Goncharova's works

I have experience working at the Hermitage in St Petersburg, Guggenheim in Venice, and the Hunter Museum of American Art in Chattanooga

My boyfriend and I also do film photography of architecture in weird places like ghost towns. We write for magazines and post our works there.

Languages is another passion I have - I'm a professional Russian teacher, learning French and Italian

• arts
• literature
• traveling
• music
• skydiving
• languages
• science

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: classical - Rachmaninoff, Mahler, and Beethoven; American and French 60s, 70s and 80s music; Radiohead

Films: by Lars von Trier, Gaspar Noe, Andrey Tarkovsky, Jim Jarmusch, and Ingmar Bergman

Literature - Fyodor Dostoevsky, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Leo Tolstoy, Vladmir Nabokov, Flannery O'Connor

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

- went to India on my own and lived in the poorest rural areas working at schools
- went to Tanzania. alone. and then to Kenya
- and then climbed Kilimanjaro without any preparation. Just on the way back form Kenya to Tanzania, just because why not. I thought I would die but somehow I made it!
- traveled across Russia (from Moscow to Vladivostok - the latter is the Russian city next to the North Korean border to renew my American visa since there was no other place to do it)

Teach, Learn, Share

I'm a certified Russian teacher, working on a number of tutoring platforms. I taught Russian at the University of the South (Sewanee, TN, USA) for two years, so if you need help with your Russian, please let me know - I love my job!

In addition to tutoring Russian, I've been teaching English online to Russian students of all ages for four years already. I'm always happy to share my knowledge and experience with you.

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Cuba, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, India, Israel, Italy, Kenya, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, Morocco, Norway, Palestine, Poland, Russian Federation, Spain, Tanzania, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United States, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

Russian Federation, United States