Hello everyone :D

A little about me—I’m from Beirut, the lively chaotic capital of Lebanon, and I’m a diasporan Armenian. My family, like many other Armenian families, has been in Lebanon for four generations. In 2020, I decided to move to Armenia with my siblings.

I fell in love with traveling and backpacking at a young age, and I made my teenage dream a reality when I started working remotely thanks to my background in arts and graphic design. In my community, solo travel—especially as a woman, and especially 'cheap travel'—is uncommon. My choices were often met with skepticism, and sometimes even disapproval. How dare you not focus on your career, start a family, or continue your education???? How dare you travel without a man to protect you?!! These are the types of questions that actually made me want to do it even more.

I’ve always had a passion for rebelling for justice—something that often got me into trouble in school. If it weren’t for my academic performance, I might have been expelled. I saw that privilege as an opportunity to challenge authority when their decisions seemed irrational and unjust. After backpacking across 3 continents, I returned to Armenia, where the small, artistic, mountainous city of Vanadzor became one of the places closest to my heart. There, my passion for eco-social advocacy grew as I collaborated with different organizations, using my skills and knowledge in graphic design to advocate for gender, animal, and environmental justice through creative mediums. During this time, my curiosity for science—particularly environmental science—grew, leading me to pursue a second bachelor's degree in Earth Sciences. This raised even more questions in my community, as why would a woman in her mid 20s with a degree in arts pursue a second bachelor's degree in science, with no guaranteed scholarships?!? So now, I’m living in Padova in Italy, studying Earth and Climate Dynamics in the faculty of geosciences, while continuing my eco-social activism remotely in Armenia to fund my studies through work that is close to my heart.

I love adventure—hitchhiking, hiking, camping, and spontaneous experiences. Lately, I’ve been into roller-skating and cycling around town. I also love experimenting with clay, contemporary dancing, writing, and cooking. I'm a very curious person, and I particularly enjoy learning about psychology, ecology, politics, cultural traditions, forms of expression, and survival skills. And if you can passionately explain something in an engaging way, I’ll listen and learn for hours.

I enjoy disagreements, as avoiding them often leads to polarization. I believe conflict transformation is a valuable skill that creates space for growth. I value open, direct communication, and passivity makes me very uncomfortable. I admire people who actively co-create spaces that encourage direct communication. Challenging constructs and stereotypes fuels me.

I enjoy spending time with myself a bit more than spending time with others—something I worked hard to cultivate, which profoundly transformed my mind, life, and relationships. I value authenticity and deeply admire people who have the courage to be their true selves.

My life’s mission:
To continuously challenge people’s mindsets and beliefs—including my own.

Por qué estoy en Couchsurfing

I love the space Couchsurfing gives to share and learn, and I've made very meaningful connections through the platform.

Intereses

• cycling
• hiking
• camping
• rowing
• earth science
• geology
• psychology
• hitchhiking
• road trips
• humor
• activism
• climbing
• stand up comedy
• roller skating
• authenticity
• advocacy
• environmental justice
• debates
• critical thinking
• friends and family
• gender equality
• movies and series
• cooking together
• spontaneous adventures

Música, películas y libros

Music:
I will obsessively share with you Arabic and Armenian music - very patriotic of me :D

Books:
Some of the books that have been very transformative for me: Coming back to life - Joanna Macy, The body keeps the score - Bessel Van Der Kolk, Set boundaries find peace - Nedra Tawwab

+++ I couldn't leave my admiration for Trevor Noah and his podcast out of my profile.

Algo increíble que he hecho

I was living in Freetown, Sierra Leone, for a few months while volunteering with an environmental initiative. One day, I spontaneously decided to visit Tiwai Island. While in a poda poda on my way there, I started doing a quick search on where I could spend the night, as I was traveling with only my hammock. I learned that I could stay with the Kambama community, right next to Tiwai Island, home to the Mende tribe. So, I started talking with the local people in the bus, using my broken Krio to learn as much Mende as I could during the ride. In the city of Bo, I searched for kola nuts to offer to the chief of the Kambama community as a gesture of goodwill. Later, I met a woman from the Mende tribe who was also heading to Kambama, and she offered to share an Okada ride with me. When we arrived, I made my offering to the village chief and showed off my newly acquired Mende skills. He gave me his blessing to spend the night in the village and offered to have some of the brave villagers guard my hammock, which I politely refused. He praised and respected my bravery, and I felt honored—he only warned me to beware of the wild boars and to hang my hammock high enough to avoid them.

Enseña, aprende, comparte

- Lebanon and Armenia; food, art, history, politics, language, traditions, travel tips.
- Backpacking, hitchhiking and cheap travel tips
- Rocks, minerals, weather and climate (in progress!!!)
- Scouts and basic knots for construction with rope and wood
- Graphic design and marketing
- Psychology, polyamory, attachment theory (disclaimer: I'm not a professional, I just enjoy reading about them)

Qué puedo ofrecer a los anfitriones

Everything you see in my profile, my stories and life experiences, my contagious smile, my love for spontaneity, and cute pictures of my pets.

Países que he visitado

Albania, Armenia, Cyprus, Egypt, Georgia, Guinea, Italy, Lebanon, Montenegro, Nepal, Russian Federation, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates

Países en los que he vivido

Armenia, Italy, Lebanon