David Roghair

David in a Decembrist museum, Irkutsk, Siberia

Career:

Officer in the Overseas Studies Program at Stanford University, helping with finance and personnel issues for 10 programs in 9 countries.

Languages:

Russian, German

Places lived in:

Russia, including long stays in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and the Russian Far East

Favorite place:

Lake Baikal, Siberia. It contains 20% of the world's fresh water, as well as a number of species that exist nowhere else in the world. It is also in a beautiful location surrounded by boreal forest and mountains on the horizon.

Hobbies:

Camping and hiking, running, arguing about politics, and community organizing around affordable housing issues

Favorite food:

pel'meni (Siberian dumplings that may contain meat, cheese, or other things)

Favorite pastime:

I really enjoy going out to the country ("za gorod"). I have fond memories of parties out in the forest with plenty of food, drink, and music.

Favorite book:

A Hero of our Time by Mikhail Lermontov