CURRENT MISSION

Exploring Ville de Québec and the Québec region as an exchange student – and of course improving my French! And eating poutine!

ABOUT ME

I study Comparative Literature at the uni in my home town Turku. I work as an editor, translator, writer and bookstore clerk at a store called Sammakko (The Frog). I've even written a guide book to Turku, so make sure to freshen up your skills in Finnish if you ever decide to visit!

Literature and language are very important to me. My other passions include philosophy, art, music and films. Lately, I've also found myself watching a lot of tv series. While traveling, my number one mission is always to find and try the best vegan food in town.

Traveling and meeting new people is when I'm at my happiest. I'm laid back and interested in learning about other cultures and world views. I like talking over coffee but also drinking beer and roaming the night. I may seem timid at first, but that will drop once we get talking.

PHILOSOPHY

♥ vegan ♥ feminist (intersectionality is the thing) ♥

Trying to take steps towards a sustainable way of life in a post-fossil fuel era.

I'm into all kinds of grassroots activism and DIY mentality! I live in a small town of 200,000 inhabitants, but we have a vivid cultural life. I admire all the people who do stuff for themselves and others around them, just making the art and organizing the events they would like to see.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

It's the people who make a place what it is, so it's meeting new people that makes traveling worthwhile. While in Québec I'd also like to try using CS for finding new local friends.

In the summer of 2012 I had great experiences surfing in Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, Berlin and Warsaw. I was taken away by my hosts' hospitality and trust.

I didn't use CS for many years until I took the time to travel the US in the fall of 2015. I met so many generous people and many whom became great friends. I've since had the priviledge to host some of them on their trips to Finland.

Interests

Art and aesthetic experience give meaning to my life. I think art is the most comprehensive way of understanding the world we live in.

I like: conversations, the outdoors, reading, tasting beers, vegan cooking and baking, watching movies, house plants, urban exploration, photography and other visual arts, going to gigs, performance arts, lifting weights, running, hiking, climbing, doing yoga, flea markets, seeing art exhibitions, etc.

• arts
• writing
• books
• literature
• performing arts
• photography
• diy
• dining
• cooking
• beer
• coffee
• baking
• vegan
• running
• drinking
• movies
• reading
• traveling
• outdoor activities
• hiking
• camping
• languages
• visual arts
• volunteering
• urban exploration

Music, Movies, and Books

MUSIC

Post-punk, folk, cold wave, shoegaze, rap, disco, synth, funk, almost everything lo-fi and experimental. I'd like to learn more about classical music.

Some of my all time favorites: Morrissey, Joy Division, Soap&Skin, Joose Keskitalo. Others: John Maus, Robbie Basho, Arvo Pärt, Scott Walker, Amen Dunes, Arthur Russell etc.

BOOKS

This is a hard one for me to answer briefly, since almost my entire life (studies, work, hobbies) circle around literature. I'm interested in and follow what happens in Finnish literature and world literature(s). I wrote my bachelor's thesis on Cormac McCarthy, so North American literature is definitely among my interests and something I'd like to learn more about!

I read novels, poetry, philosophy, essays. Most of my favorites are Finnish writers, but also Cormac McCarthy, Michel Tournier, Franz Kafka, Charles Baudelaire, Sylvia Plath, whatnot. Ecocriticism, posthumanities, animal studies, anarchism.

MOVIES

I'm trying to make myself familiar with the history of Europian and American cinema. Previously my knowlegde of films has been based on my subjective insight of what's good. That's why I don't have a favourite genre or anything, but my preference is definitely all the artsy stuff.

Some favorites: Haneke, P.T. Anderson, von Trier, Kubrick, Korine, Iñárritu, Jarmusch, Bergman, Tarkovsky, Herzog, Lynch, Kaurismäki, Zvyagintsev.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Traveling the Lofoten islands in Northern Norway, hiking and camping.

Our US roadtrip from coast to coast and back with five friends in a soccer mom van.

Writing a book, translating three albums of feminist comics. Editing an incredible debut novel.

Organizing all kinds of events with friends.

Teach, Learn, Share

Learn: languages, playing instruments, gardening or anything you happen to know a lot about. I'd love to learn about your view of the world and about your daily life. I'd also like to become an expert on beers.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I can cook you vegan food, tell you stories and analyse the world with you, join you on a night out – be a person. I'm also learning palmistry but you shouldn't have too high expectations for that!

I can also tell you about the life in the northernmost part of Europe and teach you a few words of our exotic language, which is said to be among the most difficult in the world.

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, Finland