{QA} Liebster Award

I have been nominated for the Liebster Award by Penelope from Phileas Fogg Adventures! Check out her fun blog, and thanks for the nomination!

This award is just a fun way to connect with other bloggers and help out the ones with less than 200 followers.

Here are the questions I was asked to answer:

Can you give 5 random facts about you?

• I have a sweet dog named Nala, who currently lives with my parents
• I am a sushi addict, but there isn’t a single sushi restaurant in Hull, where I live
• I speak Russian, English, Spanish and a little Portuguese
• I studied Biochem and Spanish in Uni
• I ran my first 10k this year!

My Nala dog ❤

What’s your favorite travel destination?

• My favorite travel destination is probably anywhere in Spain. I have a special connection to Alicante, since I have studied abroad there. I traveled around quite a bit to places like Madrid and Granada. There are still so many cities I have yet to discover. One is Barcelona. It has always been a dream of mine to go, and just have never had the chance! I’ve always been fond of the Spanish language and culture, especially since I studied it in school. It also is one of my favorite destinations because it means I can see my boyfriend, who is Spanish and lives there as well!

My boyfriend and I in Segovia, Spain

What’s your favorite dish from abroad and what’s your favorite dish from your country?

• My favorite dish from abroad is Paella, from Spain.
• My favorite dish from my country is Golubtsi (from Russia) or Borsch (also from Russia).

Golubtsi – a traditional Eastern European dish with minced meat rolled in lettuce or a grape leaf {photo credit to Natasha’s Kitchen)

How long have you been blogging?

• I’ve been blogging for a few years now, but I just recently started up this blog, because I wanted to start afresh and change my focus.

What’s the hardest part of blogging?

• Nothing is particularly hard, because I really enjoy it. Sometimes it is a bit difficult to think of new content, but once I get going, it’s quite easy!

When and where was your first trip?

• My first trip was when I immigrated to the United States when I was two from Russia. My first REAL trip (one that I remember) was when my dad took us to Florida as kids to see the Discovery space shuttle launch, and visit Disney World.

What’s your favorite country? Describe one activity you did there and you’ll never forget.

• I have a lot of favorites. I loved Ukraine. My family is Ukrainian, so maybe I’m a bit biased. When I was a teenager, I got the opportunity to go back to the city where my mom grew up. My brother and I spent a month there, getting to know the place and exploring. My favorite activity we did there was swim in the river. Another amazing thing we did was visit a tiny mountain village called “Yaremche”. It was so beautiful, and the food was incredible!

Yaremche, Ukraine {Source}

What inspired your blog’s name?

• Well, it’s quite clear that I love coffee, hence the “Caffeine” (also, completely off topic, it’s my favorite chemical molecule – #nerd). Any person who knows me understands that I need my cup of coffee in the morning before interacting with any humans. As far as the “berry” part, I just thought it sounded catchy.

What’s your favorite airlines or third-party sites for booking your flights?

• I religiously use Kayak.com. I don’t particularly like Ryanair, but I use them all the time. Ryanair could be a post all on its’ own. My absolute FAVORITE airlines to fly with is British Airways, only they are expensive.

In which countries have you lived in?

• I have lived in: Krasnodar, Russia; Denver, Colorado, USA; Alicante, Spain; Hull, United Kingdom.

Denver, Colorado {Source}

Did you have any unpleasant moment when traveling? How did you face it?

• All of my trips have been really pleasant. I think the worst situation has been being in a completely dodgy hostel in Paris, where one guy brought back a girl and all night… Well, you know… I had to get up and leave out of the room because it was just so uncomfortable! Not to mention, my sheets smelled like they had never been washed!

And Now… My 11 Nominees!

1. Tiffany from ConstantlyCravingAdventures.com
2. Karlie from MissWanderlust.Ca
3. Olga from The Russian Abroad
4. Amy from DunnDays
5. Rachel from The Digital Gypsy
6. Kristina from Girl On A Wing
7. Ingrid from The Ingrid Diaries
8. Kollin from Every Girl, Everywhere
9. Monica from Marriage and Medicine
10. Emily from Happy & Full
11. Rao from Thousand and One Lands
12. Camilla from Cammi
13. Meghan from Meghan King

Instructions for Nominees:

• Create a blog post on your site, answering the questions that I’ve provided below.
• In your post, be sure to link back to the blog who nominated you (aka myself, Ana of CaffeineBerry.com, with a thank you and shout out).
• After completing the questions, add a section for your nominees. Select, list and link 11 other bloggers with under 200 followers. Provide these instructions. Finally, create 11 questions for them to answer.
• Notify your nominees and provide a link to your post so that they know what to do.
• Once you’re done, come back here and comment with the link to your post so I can check out your answers.

Questions for nominees (and visitors!)

1. Where are you from?
2. When was the first time you got on an airplane, and to where?
3. What is your LEAST favorite dish you have tried abroad, and why?
4. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
5. What are your 3 must-have items you take with you traveling?
6. What is your favorite form of travel and why?
7. What languages do you speak, and if you can’t speak more than one, which language do you wish you could speak?
8. What inspired your blog’s name?
9. If you could have anyone in the world as your travel companion, who would it be?
10. Would you prefer to stay at an All-Inclusive resort, or a hostel, and why?
11. In what city did you have the best coffee ever?