CURRENT MISSION

Stop getting lost

ABOUT ME

I grew up in the Baltics and Ukraine for the initial part of my life, then moved to U.S. when I was still a child, then to Canada for undergrad and grad school. After many years in N. America, I decided to come back to Europe, permanently moving to Ukraine in 2018. I actually have no nationality or citizenship, but that's a different story. I now run my own organization, Apatride Network, a stateless-led coalition to works to address statelessness in the EU.

It's a bit of a nutshell. I can tell in better detail if we meet ;)

PHILOSOPHY

Life is what we make of it

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I've been surfing around, meeting people in various global locations (whether as a local or a guest), and had the pleasure of attending several CS events. I mostly hosted people at my place in Vancouver, Canada, and a little bit in Switzerland.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Without doubt I met a lot of wonderful people through CS, and even rediscovered those I knew before. The connection that CS makes possible for people and places is quite amazing, and adventures it can lead to is a lure enough. Even "not-so-awesome" experiences have been valuable lessons in-themselves, and comic relief all the same.

Interests

Books
Walking
Thinking
Writing
Talking
Playing sports, especially foot-ball
Strategy and organizing
Cooking
Sharing good company

• human rights

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: The Bothersome Man, Chaplin movies, Memento, Белое Солнце Пустыни, The Professional, Amores Perros, Underground, Heavy Metal, City of God, La Haine, Dead or Alive, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Tuvalu, The Bicycle Thief, The Blade Runner, Los Olvidados, Breaking the Waves, Иди и Смотри, 12 Angry Men, Kubrick movies, Kurosawa movies, various other.

Music: The Rolling Stones, Firewater, Green Day, Radiohead, The Doors, Classical, The Beatles, Высоцки, Goran Bregovic, Лойко, various other.

Books: Brave New World, The Catcher in the Rye, Catch 22, Nietzsche, Candide, Fahrenheit 451, The Prince, The Jungle, Plan of Attack, The Problems of Philosophy, The History of Alexander, The People in Arms, The Middle Mind, Behind the Urals, Достоевский, On Liberty, Liberalism and the Limits of Justice, Толстой, Max Weber, Karl Marx, We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families (actual title), Globalization and Its Discontents, Antonio Gramsci, Albert Camus, Kurt Vonnegut, A Hundred Years of Solitude, Franz Kafka, Homer, Seneca, Aesop, Shakespeare, and various other.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

The one that readily comes to mind right now (for some reason) is my trip from Namba Osaka to my guest house in Sakai after a night out of Karaoke and drinks. I was cycling, heartily singing the "Lion sleeps tonight" and meeting all kinds of interesting and kind people who earnestly tried to help me get back home in a language I could not understand. Attentively trying to listen to their stories and directions, I much relied on their pointing. By around sunrise, to my own surprise I was able to stumble back home.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach some cooking and I like to bring up random things from psychology, philosophy, and history. I can also show how to make origami boat that can transform into a muppet frog!

What I Can Share with Hosts

Food and stories ;)

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Malaysia, Montenegro, Nepal, Netherlands, Portugal, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey

Countries I’ve Lived In

Belarus, Canada, Germany, Latvia, Poland, Switzerland, Ukraine, United States

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