Norway

None

Russian: Fluent; Ukrainian: Fluent; English: Intermediate

Ukrainian

travelling, photography, drawing, reading, orienteering, knitting

Dear family!
My name is Katerina, I’m from Ukraine. I was born in Dachne village of Kharkiv oblast.
As a child I lived mainly at the country side where there were a river and a forest nearby.
My parents still have a cottage in the country where they have an orchard and a vegetable garden, thus we always have fresh vegetables and fruit. My mother takes interest in flower growing and my father takes care about the garden and the vineyard.
I’ve been living in Kharkiv since 2000. I studied at Kharkiv National Radio-electronics University from 2000 till 2005 and graduated as a specialist in the publishing and printing industry.
I live and work in Kharkiv after graduation. It is a big and beautiful city with diverse architecture. Such interesting objects as the biggest square in Europe and the first building built of ferroconcrete are situated here. The population of Kharkiv is more than 1 million people. Here are 5 theatres (including the opera house), a zoo, a dolphinarium and a number of parks.
I am the only child in the family. My mother has two higher educations: she is a teacher of chemistry and biology (teachers here study at universities, not at colleges) and an accountant. She now works as an accountant. My father is a paediatrician.
I have a niece, her name is Nastya, she is 11. I communicate with her a lot: we read books, draw, handcraft, do physical exercises, cook together, ride our bikes and go skating. My niece likes sewing, so we sometimes make soft toys. My neighbours keep various domestic animals such as nutrias, pigs, chickens, rabbits. Nastya and I often go to look at them and to feed them. It is almost our own little zoo.
I find the common language with the children easily; it is interesting for me to communicate with them. We will always find a way to spend our time doing something useful and entertaining.
I worked as an instructor in a summer camp. The children and I went together to the forest and to the river bank, played football and volleyball. Our favourite game was ping-pong and we even organized our own small championship. The winner got the letter of honour. In the evenings we went to the cinema or to a disco. In the end of the shift we had a kind of festival with the big bonfire, the cake and dances. We got very close with the children during this time and it was very hard to part.
I have read much about the Norway and its beautiful nature. As a child I dreamed to watch the aurora borealis. I like the mountains and the glaciers and I sometimes think that standing close to one a person feels all the power of our planet. My favourite subject at school was history and it is also interesting for me to see the castles and get to know the culture of the Vikings.
I also want to meet Norwegians, get to know their customs and their national cuisine. I would like to master my knowledge of English in the language environment. I like foreign languages and I would gladly learn the Norwegian language.
I like to travel, ride a bike, and to go camping. I take great interest in photography and usually I take photos of the beautiful sceneries and important events during my trips. I would like to take photos of the mountains, fiords, forests and meadow or Norway. I also like to take part in sport orienting and go in for rock climbing. These activities help me to visit more new and interesting places. The rock climbing helps me to keep my body fit and contributes to my dexterity. Football is also one of my favourite kinds of sport; I like to watch football competitions.
I read a lot. I prefer science fiction, e.g. Ray Bradbury, Strugatsky brothers, Roger Zelazny, G.L. Oldy. I wish I knew English well enough to read English authors in the original. Lately I have also been reading a number of modern authors, such as Erlend Lu, Oliver Sacks, J. Gorder, Tatyana Tolstaya. I also visit the art galleries and museums. As for my tastes in music they are different, I like various genres from jazz to electronic music.