Hi) This account is created for two people at once, our names are Sonya and Yasmina, we are good friends and below we would like to tell a little about ourselves.

My name is Yasmina (inst: jasminidris) , I am an exchange student from Russia with Arabic roots. I'm twenty years old and so far the only thing I know for sure is that some things are never enough: knowledge, adventure, and experience, so now I'm always trying to get more :)
I truly believe that the purpose of life is to learn the world in all its manifestations and at the same time explore oneself, pass through new places and trials, meet new people, and learn as much as possible from different spheres. That's why I am always open to new things: whether it is food, activity, or a certain outlook on life
People who communicate with me usually say that I am a very bright and energetic person, which is very flattering to me.
I study politics (I am most interested in Middle Eastern countries), besides,I am interested in history
I have a special place in my heart for dancing, singing, cooking, and crafting. I have played the ukulele in the past and am currently learning to play the piano. I'm also a bit of a hiking enthusiast and really enjoy doing colorful makeup.

Hey! I’m Sofia (inst: sofiaegorovq) , I’m from Russia, Siberia and I am twenty years old, I grew up in Omsk but I travelled a lot across Russia with my family and I've also been to Cyprus, Turkiye, France and Armenia. I am an exchange student in my junior year in Alma College, Michigan. I love learning about new things; cultures, lifestyle, experience, habits, traditions and history. Culture is the key to destroying the communication barriers. I am also a very outgoing and caring person who’s always ready to face new challenges and have fun!
My major is linguistics, and I’m passionate about learning languages! I speak Russian and English, I’m learning French in my home university and I took some Japanese. I’m taking Chinese in Alma College and I also wish to learn Arabic, Greek and Latin one day! I used to be a professional figure skater, I did single skating for 6 years and synchronized skating for 2 years. Good thing I can still do some jumps:) I also did dancing in elementary school. I also enjoy taking pictures! Each picture holds memory, capturing every moment is really important to me.
Besides everything said above, I love hanging out with my friends and family, playing video games, crafting and doing makeup!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

It seems to us that if exploring a city is limited to seeing the tourist spots, you can't really get to know the city. Ideally, to get to know a place, you should live in it, face all the problems and shortcomings of the city, and take your time to enjoy all the nooks and crannies and interesting spots hidden in the back streets. Unfortunately, we have essentially only a month to explore American cities-the length of our college winter break. People as culture bearers tend to be the soul of a city and reflect it perfectly. So we’re really hoping that through couchsurfing we will be able to get a broader sense of the places we want to visit. Also, it’s always a joy meeting new people, every new acquaintance is a new story, experience, and perspective on the world. Talking from personal experience, there have been people in our lives who, simply by their appearance and their stories, have changed our perception of certain things and helped us a lot.

Interests

• books
• crafts
• politics
• music
• hiking
• history
• languages
• dance
• makeup

Music, Movies, and Books

Yasmina:
It is always as difficult as possible for me to talk about my musical preferences because I like completely different genres, from rock to classical music, and all these in different languages.
With books and movies the situation is about the same, but I can mention Pasternak, Dostoevsky, Donna Tartt, and Remarque as my favorite writers

Sofia:
I absolutely do not have a favorite type of music; I end up liking almost EVERYTHING.
Some of my favorite bands and artists are Gorillaz, My chemical romance, Taylor Swift, Poppy, Playboi Carti, Rihanna, 5 seconds of summer, Stray Kids, All Time Low, The Academic, and many many more. I also like vocaloids.
When it comes to movies, I am confident that my favorite one is Peter Pan (2003). This movie means a lot to me and it remind me of my childhood plus i find comfort in it. I also love Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, Studio Ghibli movies.
I LOVE young adult books! My favorite of all time is definitely The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater. Percy Jackson book series and Harry Potter will always have a special place in my heart too. I also like Dostoevsky, Gogol, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Virginia Woolf.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Yasmina:
Spontaneously agreed to go to the neighboring region for a camping trip and rafted there at night on the river

Sofia:
It might not be that special in general, but I rode some scary roller coasters in Cedar Point. I can be really emotional and impressionable when it comes to something extreme. As someone who’s never done anything like that and almost chickened out, I was very proud of myself!

Countries I’ve Visited

Armenia, Belarus, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine

Countries I’ve Lived In

Egypt, Russian Federation