I grew up in Russia and Ukraine... When I was 26 I happened to read a couple books that motivated me to took a trip outside of Ukraine for the first time in 10 years... I've been on 17 flights, and visited five countries during the next 12 months...

In 2011 I was getting ready to move to Canada... but I was offered a job in US at the same time and settled here... I've been to 26 states in US so far...

The only travel books I ever read where written for Americans about traveling through Europe... But instead I ended up traveling USA from coast to coast staying with complete strangers I met online a few days before or the same day. During my following coast-to-coast trip I drove a car by myself making a stop in every national park... that happened to be on my way... at Yellowstone I decided to walk some short trail... after five minutes on the trail I ended up almost face to face with a bear cub... maybe it was the first time I was scared to encounter an animal that close...

For quite some time I lived with a roommate who was a dog walker for people in Rittenhouse square... once in a while we had up to six dogs staying with us for days including two rescue cats. I loved it quite a lot, dogs loved me... there was one small white chihuahua with grey hair on her face... I forgot her name... somehow she got into a habit of chewing my fingers... like they were dog toys... so damn cute.

I hate interviewing people for a job... it makes me crazy nervous like I'm the one being interviewed... even after dozen of interviews... but my boss thinks I'm the best at interviewing in our team... he also keeps me doing initial phone interviews with every new potential hiree...

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

to connect with fellow adventure seekers

I haven't been surfing since 2011 but might start hosting soon...

I'm planning to visit China and South America in the next 12 months

Interests

Looking out for hobbies and interests that would stick: outdoor rowing, cooking, travelling, tango and salsa dancing, yoga, meditation, strength training, long distance road trips, ice skating...

• animals
• cats
• dogs
• books
• dancing
• salsa dancing
• tango
• cooking
• yoga
• meditation
• traveling
• outdoor activities
• surfing
• rowing
• road trips
• parks

Music, Movies, and Books

*Books*: "Europe Through the Back Door" by Rick Steves and "The 4-Hour Workweek" by Tim Ferris.

*Shows*: Santa Barbara, House MD, Black Books, Suits

*Music*: Modern country (for road trips), Post-grunge (for squatting and deadlifting at a gym), Salsa music

*Food*: I grew up not used to hot spicy food

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Two week long US coast-to-coast road trip by myself
with stops in six-seven national parks.

Teach, Learn, Share

Teach: salsa dancing, cooking risotto and deep fried salmon crouchettes

Countries I’ve Visited

France, Germany, Italy, Monaco, Spain

Countries I’ve Lived In

Russian Federation, Ukraine, United States

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