Greetings beautiful couchsurfers! I am Maria, from the Republic of Buryatia, Russia! I am currently a masters student in conservation leadership at the University of Cambridge. Back home in Russia, I direct an NGO dedicated to the conservation of biocultural diversity and cultural rights of the Indigenous Peoples of the Lake Baikal region.
I can say that I have two homes: one in Buryatia (Russia) and Mongolia and I have been going back and forth for all my life :) I spent few years in Indiana, California, Arizona, and Massachusetts for education, Kyrgyzstan too!
Personality wise, I am very respectful, polite, pretty decent sense of humor :P I love meeting new people and learning about different cultures.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I heard about Couchsurfing in an article that I read for one of the assignments back in college. This concept captivated me immediately since I love meeting new people, feeding them with food, and discuss things like cultures, philosophies, etc.

Interests

Reading, Environment, Ecology, Conservation, Indigenous People's rights, Arts, Geography, Pop Culture, Cookies, Cakes, Dumplings, more Dumplings, Religions, Cultures.

• yoga
• running
• meditation
• reading
• languages

Music, Movies, and Books

Books: Brothers Karamazov, The Dead Souls, Harry Potter, A Series of Unfortunate Events.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I helped to build a Buddhist Temple in Oka region, Buryatia.

Teach, Learn, Share

Teach: Russian, Mongolian languages.
Learn: Anything that you want to teach me.
Share: My awesome spirit and personality.

What I Can Share with Hosts

A cookie! Or anything tasty really. Small souvenirs.

Countries I’ve Visited

Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, South Korea, Spain, Thailand

Countries I’ve Lived In

Mongolia, Russian Federation, United States