Hi everyone! I am Victoria, I am 23 years old and currently I live in Moscow.

Welcome! I don't smoke or drink either, just turned 26, but I've never been to Moscow. You'll have to tell me what it's like.

Like you, I hope to share my own green vision and open up a business in the future.

Hey, thank you for welcoming me!) It's good to know that there are people looking at things in a similar way )). It's nice to meet you)

Well, Moscow is overcrowded as any other big city, but there are lots of interesting things to do and people to meet. However, I would prefer to live in more quiet place. And you, are you from Florida, right? What does FL mean?

Welcome Victoria, online cooking community is a good idea!!

Thank you friend ))

It's my pleasure to hear you like it! Do you like cooking?

I cook about 95% of my meals. When I was a meat eater, about 80%. So yes I love cooking! My mother is a great cook and she is proud to say that her daughter's cooking is great. I now have a new challenge, cooking vegan and keeping that reputation hehee  I hope to find very tasteful recipes and have her and my father try them and keep them (secret hope they go meatless mondays).

You were right, I'm from Florida. And I wish there were more interesting people to meet here. Usually the more interesting people move out.

I cook most of my meals too. Sometimes I pass over take out night to make my own stuff because it's far more satisfying to make your own.

That's great! :) We have lots in common :) Feel free to add me on facebook, I would be very happy to have more vegetarian/vegan friends, as Russia is not veggie friendly country. Unfortunately

While I don't have a Facebook account, I happily chose to follow you on this site. I see a parallel with Russia and the south of the USA with not being veggie friendly. People here think you're ill if you don't eat meat and sometimes get violent as if I'd just slapped their mother. There are no veg restaurants or shops nearby. I would have to travel 50 miles to see a vegan restaurant. People say "Go to MeetUp.com to find other vegans!" and I've looked, there are no groups.

It feels isolating here but I'm hoping next year we'll move to a more veggie friendly place.

Shadowlock, you are welcome too :) To be honest, I envy you. You know, you live in a warm climate, the sun is shining, probably, ocean is not far away. And now imagin, you get up and go to work in total darkness, when you come back it's night again. And it's cold, really cold, that sometimes it's hard to bearth. So, I would like to say that don't be upset about where you are, life is wonderful ;)

Well thanks, I've never thought of hell that way but the sun is definately shining. My plants are blooming ahead of season and 40 degrees is cold here. I've lived up north in Maine where it gets to 20 below zero, blizzards, can't see or breathe, can't get into the car without digging it out. It's just that there's no community here for me in a small town made up of BBQ, fast food, and gas stations.

It sucks that you don't get to see the sun, you should ask for more days off.

I completely understand you, being among people holding the same views is important. Originally I am from the South of Russia, where is the settlement of a small nation I belong to. The problem is that historically my ancestors were nomads and cattlemen, so all my relatives are  meat eaters and do not approve my style of life. They believe that I am not ok with my head, you know. So, I feel it difficult to explain them something, as they just don't want to understand. But I got used to not being approved and I am fine with it. I just know exactly that I should listen my heart no matter what people say.

This is how I live. My family is all over and not very close. My brother doesn't understand it and wants to debate me on it while my mother rejects it saying she was raised as a meat and potatoes girl (whatever that means).

Although I am not religious by any means, I've read that if you explain to other people that you don't consume meat for religious purposes, they leave you alone and sometimes go out of their way to accommodate your needs. I'd be willing to try that line if I ever make it out of the country one day.