Please implement
ProfilePage
::column_col2()

or create a file
"/var/rox/deployment/www.bewelcome.org-641c114/htdocs/../build/members/templates/profile.column_col2.php"

Kostromskaya

About me

I started as a member of HC, then moved on to CS and am now looking for a more dynamic and less freeloaded community. Hopefully, BW will become the one.

I may sound quite harsh and direct, but it is because a) people usually understand better commands not grammatically sophisticated polite statements and b) I am quite straightforward in real life. And I love laughing and smiling. So, I am a talkative, opinionated, straightforward and polite, enthusiastic, loud, impulsive Aries, Dragon, agnostic, who came to Moscow to study and stayed to live - the best city in the world!!!! with not the best climate for me though (((Love laughter (yet bad at telling jokes)))) Easygoing and fun with friends, serious at work, love music, can spend hours in karaoke bars but singing in the shower will do as well:) love learning thru reading, listening, watching, traveling, meeting new people. Graduated from MGU, Moscow with a diploma in translating, teaching – English, Spanish, studied in the USA for a while. And I love travelling and meeting new people who will help me to fall in love with their cultures.

Spoken languages

Russian ^{Mother Tongue}
English ^Fluent
Spanish ^Intermediate
Indonesian ^Beginner

My interests

Books:: Yes to jazz, no to country music. Yes to comedies, no to horror movies. Books are fine yet I am news junky and prefer newspapers. And hey, sorry but I have really bad memory for names. I might have read or have seen something and I do love and have a lot of respect for well read and educated people but... really I simply do not remember all these famous names! Yet I do remember smells, voices and impressions...

And the books I read are mostly related to my job, hence psychology, languages, teaching, self-improvement, time-management, etc, everything that will help me to help my students.
Music:: Okkkk, something that I do feel yet somehow do not remember...

Zdob She Zdoob, Norrah Jones, The Platters, Van Morrison, The Doors, Vanessa Williams, Village People, Joe Dassin, Joe Coker, Lisa Stansfield, Faith No More, N’evergreen, U2, Marc Antony, The Temptations, Savage Garden, Ray Charles, Pink, Deep Purple, Metallica, Nat King Cole, Louis Armstrong, Marie J. Blige, Madonna, Led Zeppeling, Def Leppard, Frank Sinatra, Eric Clapton, Aerosmyth, Depeche Mode, Cindy Lauper, Chicago, Bryan Adams, Bee Gees, Aretha Franklin, All 4 One, Allanis Morissette, INXS, U2, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, George Michael, UB40, ACDC, Metallica, Black Eyed Peas, Gwen Stefani, No Doubt, 10 000 maniacs, 3 doors down, Antonov, Boyarksy, Bravo, Chizh I Co, Zemphira, Gosti iz Buduschego, Anna German, Leonid Utesov, Aleksandr Vertinsky, Voskresenie, Wet Wet Wet, Maroon 5, keane, Bon Jove, Seal, Chris Rea, Ella Fitzerald, Boys II Men, Lauren Hill, 98 Degrees, Ray Charles, Aaron Neville, Barry White, Beyonce, Shakira, Bob Dylan, Chaka Khan, Chris Isaak, Donna Summers, Fergie, Gloria Esteban, Guns’N’Roses, james Morisson, Jewel, lemar, modjo, nickleback, Richard marx, rolling stones, Sheryl crow, smashing pumpkins, toni Braxton, Vanessa Williams, rick astley, iggy pop, Robbie Williams, linkin park, nelly furtado, akon, mika, jay-z, 50 cents, eminem, the whilte stripes, the police, Texas, Simply Red, Evanescence, Lenny Kravitz, Nickelback, Prince, Sade, Savage Garden, bonnie tyler, queen, reo speed wagon, WASP, ENYA, A-HA, Elton John, Annie Lennox, Marie Carrey, Whitney Houston, Alicia Keys, scorpions, gloria gaynor, macy gray, radiohead, moloko, the prodigy, the smashing pumkings, ..........................
for the rest i still have to check my pile of CDs

Travel experiences

Past trips:: TRAVELED: Austria, Azerbaijan, Egypt, England, Estonia, France, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Latvia, Mauritius, Netherlands, Philippines, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Ukraine, United States, Vatican, Venezuela, Ecuador
LIVED: United States
Planned trips:: Brazil

Belongs to the following groups

Accommodation

Max number of guests:: 2
Maximum length of stay:: Preferred but not restricted period of stay 2 days - 5 days. And if you are travelling with a friend/girlfriend/boyfriend/sister/brother they must have their own profiles. If you are a married couple, it is perfrectly acceptable to have one profile.
I Live With:: I share the apt with a female friend of mine. She is not into hospitality exchange projects and I try not to bother her with hosting duties as we are lucky already she does not mind strangers in the house. Despite of this, she did take care of some CS guests so in a way, she is a host. And on my CS profile she has a lot of thanks as well.)))
Please bring:: Some knowledge about Moscow, Russia, the culture, etc.

I do not mind helping you to make a list of what to see in Moscow but I strongly believe that a good traveler plans a trip ahead meaning that they read about the rules/customs/traditions/taboo/etc of the place they are going. So do your homework before you start asking basic questions . I will be happy to assist with finding information about specific things those that you cannot easily find in the internet or guidebooks. And yes, I will gladly give you my opinion on what is interesting to see in Moscow but then again you have to say what you want to see: architecture, museums, parks, alternative places, etc. and how much you know of Russia and the Russian culture.

Moscow alone has officially around 15 million people. Unofficially 20m. Hundreds of museums, dozens of parks and endless number of bars and restaurants. Basic info is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow.
I can offer my guests:: For my guests I have some SPACE ON THE FLOOR in my room . So, it is NOT a separate bedroom, it is NOT a couch, it is just some floorspace.

I have some kind of a mattress (a very thin one though), linen, blankets and pillows, and towels if needed. I have a washing machine to wash it so it is absolutely no problem.

Actually, if you are petite (and I mean quite small), I have a small couch for you as well)))) In fact, two small couches and a lot of floorspace (just in case)))))

I live in the center of Moscow. Moscow is walkable and safe. Even for dark skinned travelers. At least the central area. Whatever you see inside the circle metro line is the center of Moscow.
I can offer my hosts:: Well, after five years of being an active member of Couchsurfing, and after hosting over 200 very different people, I have come up with a list of rules for my house and after staying with almost 20 different hosts in different countries I have got enough experience of co-existing with people from different cultural/religious/social backgrounds. Hopefully, I am naturally polite and flexible enough to be told if somebody is unhappy with some things I, still based on my culture, take for granted. Communication is the key to everything!)))
Other information for guests:: - In Russia water is cheap, thus you can enjoy long showers unless you are a hard core environmentalists and I do expect you to look clean and smell nice when you come out of my flat.
- My guests clean any mess they make after themselves, that includes the kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, etc. Dishes, crunches, fallen pieces on the floor, hairs in the bathtub...
- I provide you with bed linen; pillows, blankets and towels (have some sets for guests). Please keep your personal belongings inside your back-pack whenever possible.
- You buy your own food and bring your own toiletries.
- You are welcome to use the fridge for storing your food.
- You can recharge all your devices without asking. Electricity is not very expensive here either just like water.
- You can use the washing machine but do check if it is available.
- You can use the kitchen appliances to cook and or make tea or coffee . I show what is ok to use and how to use things during a Victoria's Flat Crush Course)))) so pls pay attention.
- I have WiFi if you have a laptop.
Public transport:: Metro/subway/underground (the most used transport in Moscow) - 5 minute on foot
Restrictions:: No smoking,
No drugs,
Please also consider the following restrictions:
Other restrictions:: PLEASE READ MY PROFILE AND SHOW IN YOUR REQUEST THAT YOU HAVE READ IT.

- I am a freelancer doing teaching and translating. I work a lot. 7 days a week to be exact. Sometimes I start at 8am, sometimes I finish at 10pm. Sometimes I leave at 7am, sometimes I arrive at 11pm. I depend on my clients, so my agenda is scheduled on a day to day basis. Sometimes you can sleep in, sometimes you have to leave with me (ideally BEFORE me) at 08am. Sometimes all my classes are canceled. If you are in town, I will be happy to hang out with you the whole day.

I need some time in the morning to get dressed for work meaning please give me access to my bedroom.

I love chatting to my guests, discussing news and stuff, in fact, this is why I am hosting: to meet people, learn from them, exchange views, etc. So please check my agenda now and then as I will be happy to share some free hours with you.

I love showing around Moscow but it must be summer when I have some free time. Sometimes a lot of free time. From September to May it is nearly impossible. Yet do check it with me actually.

If I am busy, sorry, you will entertain yourself somewhere in the streets, museums, clubs and bars of Moscow for the whole day.

In fact, if you are on a budget and prefer to cook yourself while traveling, my house probably is not the best place for you to stay. There can be days when you will only have access to the kitchen after 10pm.

When I am in my busy working period I may have no time to even chat with you yet in any case I will do my best to provide you with information, maps, instructions, etc. to make your Moscow stay as interesting as possible (providing YOU ask questions ).

If you keep silence and do not try to approach me with some chat most probably I will also keep silence. If you are too shy or lazy, it is not my problem, right? But then why would I need a stranger in the house who does add any added value to my already stressed life?)))))

Family and close friends

Bwalya

from Advice to Hosts Group on another famous Hospitality Exchange website)))
leoalone

Hi Leo, I have seen you a lot on Advice to Hosts on CS. I guess that now we all are looking for another place to go, its good to still keep in touch with somebody you know from online talks?)))
gilgamesh67

HI Pascal, Birds of feather stick together? the King (CS) is dead! Long live the King (BW)?)))
polyglot

Warm welcome from Advice to Hosts Group reader (and poster)))
beastmole

I had a terrific tiime with Aisling and Steve when they were surfing my couch in Moscow))) We met on CS.
brandchrist

Met thru CS))))
FRANCEVNA

Galina is a nice and very friendly woman who helped me a lot in another city. We met thru CS)))