I’m Daryna (or Dary for short), Ukrainian by origin and currently living in Slovakia.

I work in the field of education, managing international projects connected with school development. I genuinely believe that education shapes societies and creates long-term change.

I have many hobbies, and my favorite one is postcrossing — I send postcards from every country I visit and collect cards from all over the world. My collection is already close to 500 postcards! I love art, music, and a bit playing guitar. I’m passionate about languages (so far: English, Slovak, Spanish), hiking, natural sciences, photography, gardening, astronomy, cultural studies, basketball, calisthenics, vinyl records, puzzles, chess, drawing, and running. And by education, I’m a philosopher 😁

I truly enjoy museums, galleries, and of course — traveling.

I’ve visited 24 countries so far, but numbers don’t impress me as much as stories do. So, gonna make new ones!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I like to meet people from different countries and discover new cultures, that’s it :)

Interests

• arts
• traveling
• hiking
• plants
• ceramics
• postcrossing
• philosphy
• vinyl records

Music, Movies, and Books

I have so diverse music taste, literally in every genre I have something. My digital playlist counts more than 4000 songs and around 60 lovely vinyl records. It is always hard to say what I like the most, but after a lot of tryings I've understood it is definitely №1 Red Hot Chilly Peppers (and solo albums of John Frusciante), Alt-J, Sade, Fiona (the genius) Apple, Moby, Lady Gaga and Depeche Mode. Some Ukrainian artists in my heart are Scriabin and Okean Elzy.

The same situation with movies 😂 no particular genre, but I really appreciate artistic movies. My favorite director are Wes Anderson, Yorgos Lanthimos, Sofia Coppola, Wong Kar-wai. Also I love Irish dark comedies (like In Brugge, The Banshees of Inisherin, Calvary) and Japanese/South Korean “slice of life” movies.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

The oldest tattoo master in the world Apo Wang Od gave me a tattoo
And “survived” meeting with a bear in mountains 😁

Teach, Learn, Share

I’ve studied Philosophy in university so we can spend 5 hours at night instead of sleep, discussing philosophical questions.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I try to never go empty handed and bring something tasty or meaningful. And you always welcome to stay in Bratislava!

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Italy, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

Slovakia, Ukraine