My name is Lera and currently I study in Novosibirsk State University, Natural Sciences Department. I also participate in a scientific project of Russian Academy of Science, where we use stem cells to create a model of Parkinsons disease in a Petri dish.

I love traveling around the world and I am open to new people and experince!

Besides studying I do some sports, every winter we do snowboarding in Sheregesh, Russia. I also set up some cultural events and parties for my university,

I am an open-minded and cheerful soul and I would like to have some fun abroad :)

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I am an experienced traveler but usually I live in hotels of any kind. I believe that travelling with couches is an amazing opportunity to see the real life of a country and its' people. I would like to share some international experience, find some new friends and have a great time all together!

Interests

• arts
• modern art
• music festivals
• cooking
• traveling
• rock music
• snowboarding
• biology
• science
• interesting people
• bioinformatics

Music, Movies, and Books

I love different kind of music all the way from heavy metal to reggae. My favorite band of all time is Arctic Monkeys, but I also adore The Doors, Nirvana, Jimi Hendrix, The Red Hot Chili Peppers and Muse.

It is hard to choose my favorite movie for me, but I love Woody Allen and Quentin Tarantino movies.

What about literature on the one hand I really enjoy some of Russian classical authors like Dostoevsky and Bulgakov and on the other hand I love some books of beatniks like "On The Road" by Jack Kerouac. I do read a lot in general and besides belles-lettres, I like popular science books.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I am a social active person that is why every year with a team of my classmates we set up different events for freshmen. This year we had a great quest in the Siberian forest at night. We have created a lot of different competitions and tasks that lasted all night long. The event was so successful that more than 200 students have participated in it!

Last spring I participated in a student conference for the first time in my life and it was great! I put a lot of effort in my scientific project and I manage to create a genetically modified cell lines of human stem cells, which will be helpful to discover the pathogenesis of a Parkinson Disease.

I have travelled around the world for a while, especially in Asia. I have been visited 12 countries in general. Also, I have travelled around Russia a lot. I participated in a scientific expedition on a study of a behavior of seagulls in Karasuk.
Right now, I participate I a summer school on academic skills that is located in Dubna, near the river Volga.

Teach, Learn, Share

I participated in an exchange program in 2014, I lived in the USA for the 3 months with different host families and it was an amazing experience! We still stay in contact and I hope that one day they will manage to visit me in Russia!

I also take part in different summer schools every year to share different experience in science and life with different motivated students. It helps me to get new ideas and a lot of motivation to make my life, study and world around me better!

What I Can Share with Hosts

I would be happy to share some international experience with my hosts!

When I lived in the USA, we spent a lot of time with my host families together. I taught them to cook some Russian meals, we talked a lot about literature, culture and habits of both of our countries and it was extremely interesting!

I would be happy to share some cultural insights, but also I would enjoy talking on scientific topics! I am pretty flexible so different kind of activities would be good for me (either party or comfortable talking on different topics).

My friend Misha is a medical student but he is a kind of my soul mate! We share many common interests. But it will be his first trip abroad and he is so excited about it!

We both speak English fleuntly.

Countries I’ve Visited

China, Finland, Greece, Kazakhstan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Ukraine, United States, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States