Hi! I'm Helen and I live in downtown Boston 2 seconds from the river! I have a nice big studio apartment now in a great building and I would love to host some couchsurfers. I have traveled all over the world and love couchsurfing! I have a big L-shaped couch that two people can sleep on and one more regular couch. More people can also sleep on the floor in between the couches on my spare mattress. And you can also set up your sleeping pad on the floor, or sleep on my sleeping pad or exercise mat, whatever you prefer.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I'm inspired by this community and love hanging out with travelers! I feel it's my mission to help all living beings.

Interests

I am now traveling in Latin America! :D

• writing
• cooking
• yoga
• gardening
• traveling
• volunteering
• mountains
• forests
• language
• feminism
• veganism
• sunrises
• yoga and meditation
• conlanging
• animal sanctuaries
• celibacy
• vegan farming

Music, Movies, and Books

I have a 225-book long booklist I can send you that is also in my links sidebar if you look me up on Facebook (Helen Batchan). I mostly read about spirituality. I usually would rather go outside and be in nature than watch movies or listen to music. I like world music. I like movies sometimes but I am just pretty low-tech. I don’t hate technology, though. I follow hundreds of animal sanctuaries on Instagram and hope to be able to work with animals at a sanctuary or doing biology field research. I like looking at pictures of cute animals. I also follow a lot of fruitarians, raw vegans, and yoga teachers and can give you advice if you’re curious about learning more about those things. I studied Russian Literature at Bard College for my B.A.

My book recommendations:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1KhJt3yULwQPwJIn4H9wgT2OW42KckZp8vPMs1f9nOuE/edit?usp=sharing

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Hitchhiked to and from and climbed Mount Mansfield, Mount Katahdin/ Knife's Edge, and the North Prezzies. Also section hiked more of the Appalachian Trail.

Also backpacked around Europe.

Studied abroad in St. Petersburg (lived with a host family) and Bishkek (rented my own apartment).

Learned to ski in Vermont, snowboard in Kyrgyzstan, and ice skate in New Jersey, where I grew up (Teaneck).

Visited a very poor village where everyone lived in mud huts in Tajikistan.

Survived homelessness and was/am able to give back. Also a psychiatric survivor.

Went to Odessa for the first time in my life, the city my deceased father was from, rented an apartment, and lived there for three months.

Taught English in Moscow.

WWOOFed on 5 different farms in Italy.

Been to Israel and Poland a dozen or so times each.

Completed a yoga teacher training.

Graduated from Bard College.

Found an ACA sponsor.

I would like to: found my own ecovillage, serve in the Peace Corps, and be a UN volunteer.

Completed a meditation class with ananda.org, stayed a week at Zen Mountain Monastery.

Practicing NVC with compassioncourse.org.

I am a trauma-informed peer specialist and want to help people with disabilities and disadvantages. I volunteer a lot.

I have also traveled with very little or no money and know a lot of tricks.

Teach, Learn, Share

I'm a yoga teacher and book private sessions and also currently teach some free weekly group classes like dance, aerobics, and writing. Ask me for more info!
https://helenbatchanyoga.wixsite.com/yoga
https://www.facebook.com/hbflow01
http://instagram.com/hbflow01
I'd be happy to have you follow me!

What I Can Share with Hosts

Conversation, yoga, vegan food and cooking, saddle-stitch book-binding, walks, picnics, tours, company. There is kayak and paddleboard rental right here a 15 minute walk away in Boston. You can even take a windsurfing class. I can let you borrow a picnic blanket or beach chair if you would like. Sometimes there are outdoor movie nights. I’m still trying to find opportunities to help disadvantaged people and animals that don’t require an interview process. I can also offer resource lists and guides for different locations if you're interested :D

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Ecuador, England, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, England, Kyrgyzstan, Russian Federation, Ukraine, United States