I've been living in London most of my adult life and it has been one of the greatest journeys in my life. I could write a whole essay about this city, but if there would be only one thing I could say about it, it would be: "celebrating and honouring diversity" - it's about London, but it's also about me.

For the past five years, I've been moving a lot, living in Ukraine, in Poland, travelling around South East Asia and New Zealand, taking part in different European projects regarding arts, sustainability, green education and community.

I like to say that the only certain thing in my life is constant change.
Although I enjoyed city life, being closer to nature became a priority in my life.
Trying to stay in touch with nature every day. This is something that really helps me find my balance.

I work as a freelance UI / Graphic Designer. In my spare time, I draw, paint, meditate.
Most of my artworks are inspired by nature. You can check out some of them here: https://www.instagram.com/yvonanov/
I'm currently training to be a Mindfulness Teacher.

I'd like to say that I'm vegan, but I think it comes down to being vegan-ish...eating mostly plant-based food, but sometimes it's hard to say no to yummy non-vegan dessert, haha.

Love movement in any form - whether it's hiking, climbing, snowboarding, dancing, contact improvisation, yoga, acroyoga, pilates, qigong, feldenkraise - I love the exploration...

If I were in the city I would look for some interesting architecture, street art or some current exhibitions in the Modern Art Museum. But most importantly connecting with people.

I'm quite an independent person. I love great companions but I'm also very comfortable just being on my own.
I generally like learning - whenever it's a new skill, new language, some craft or totally useless thing
I'm curious... everything is interesting.

I never felt like I belonged somewhere - still not sure if it's a good thing or not. Don't really have one place I could call home but I always felt that my home should be wherever I go.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Travelling has always been my passion. Couchsurfing is the perfect place to meet like-minded people.

For me travelling is about connecting with people, is about knowing what their everyday life looks like, and understanding their culture, language and history. It is about experiencing the energy of the new place as if it was my home. Travelling is learning, and for me, it happens mainly through the people I meet on my way.

Interests

• wildlife
• culture
• design
• photography
• vegetarian
• vegan
• yoga
• meditation
• gardening
• reading
• hiking
• history
• travel
• art
• nature
• poi
• contact improvisation
• mindfulness
• climbing
• outdoor
• acroyoga
• acrobatics
• qigong
• foraging
• natural health
• movement
• buddism
• snowboard
• architecure
• drawing and painting
• feldenkraise

Music, Movies, and Books

some of my favourite books:
'Anne of Green Gables' L.M.Montgomery (I just love this book)
'The Little Prince' Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
'Letters from the Earth' Mark Twain
'Jonathan Livingston Seagull', Richard Bach
'The End of Eternity' Isaac Asimov
"Brave New World" Aldous Huxley
"Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China" by Jung Chang
"Prosperity Without Growth" by Tim Jackson
"The Hobbit" J. R. R. Tolkien
"Witches abroad" Terry Pratchett
'Animal Farm' George Orwell
"Nineteen Eighty-Four" George Orwell
"The Trial" Franz Kafka
"Sophie's World" Jostein Gaarder
"The Ancient Secret of The Flower of Life" Melchizedek Drunvalo
"Tao of Physics" Frifjof Capra
'Shantaram" Gregory Davis Roberts

Music: here are just some, but there are plenty of others
Frog Pocket, Kid Loco, Autechre, Pink Floyd, Aphex Twin, Goran Bregovic, Bjork, Infected Muchrooms, 2 Square, Enigma, Trentemoller, Squarepusher, Bonobo, Air, Daft Punk, Concord Down, Krufty Kuts, Tom Craft, Apparat, Circlesquare, Crystal Castle

Movies: only few of my favourite ones, there are so many:
Samsara (2001 directed by Pan Nalin - this is not the famous "Samsara" movie, although I love it too. It's independent movie which tells the story of a Buddhist monk's quest to find Enlightenment - it's amazing!)
What Dreams May Come, Earthlings, Night on Earth, Walking Life, Beautiful Mind, Amelie, Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, Into the Wild, Bicentennial Man, My life without me, The Fall, 99 Francs, Mindwalk, The Land Before Time, Gattaca, My Neighbour Totoro, Before Sunset, Waitress,
Among White Clouds, Ashes and Snow, K-Pax,
"U Pana Boga za piecem" directed by Jacek Bromski
"Panna Nikt" Directed by Andrzej Wajda,
At first Sight, City of Angels, Tillsammans, City of Ember, 500 days of Summer, The Fantastic Mr. Fox
Good Will Hunting, Dreamers, The last station, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Everything is Illuminated
Seed: The Untold Story, Life is a Miracle, Juno, Renaissance,
Kill Bill, "Dom Solnca" (The house of Sun)
Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels,
Princess Mononoke, The secret life of bees

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I trully lived my life

Teach, Learn, Share

We can do yoga and meditate together.
If you up for it we could do some acroyoga too, we could play :)
We could cook and we could talk.
I'll try my best to be present for you and to listen.

If you would like to try poi spinning I could show you a few moves, if you already know how to spin poi I would love to learn some new moves ;) If we meet anywhere in Europe during Autumn I could show you how to pick edible mushrooms.

I would like to learn more about:
you

I'd also like to learn to play ukulele and to sing.
I'd like to try to dive and to surf.
There are so many things I'd still like to learn, so I'm quite open to whatever comes first.
Maybe it's even something that I don't know it yet...

What I Can Share with Hosts

my attention, my open heart and ears, my stories and hopefully a lovely meal.

Countries I’ve Visited

Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Malaysia, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Scotland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, Poland, Ukraine, United Kingdom

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