Essay 584 • Apr 20th 2025
- by Alina Abramovich
I think deep down we are all afraid of being left alone in this world. We yearn for someone to bear witness to our lives, our successes and mistakes, our beauty and our ugliness. When I found myself traveling alone in a country where I didn't speak the language, where I was a good deal taller than most folks, and where I was quite obviously a gaijin (foreigner), I felt both observed and unobserved at the same time. Sometimes figuratively alone in a sea of people, sometimes literally alone in nature or usually busy spots due to the time of day or the weather. I was alone but never lonely, because human and natural connections were all around me - all I had to do was reach out.
Alina Abramovich is a Hawai’i based conservationist and creative with a passion for
sustainability, social justice and collaborative storytelling. As a writer, producer, photographer
and model she has worked with numerous clients including Nike, Olukai, Title Nine, Departures,
Road Runner, Kamperett, Koru, Atlas Surfboards, Honubelle, XIX Palms, Purple Mai’a, and
Fairmont.
A “Jane of all Trades”, Alina is a passionate waterwoman with years of boating and ocean safety
experience, a surfer, runner, paddler, translator, educator, agency-signed model, and a dog mom.
She is fluent in Russian, English and French and dabbles in conversational Spanish. She feels
most at home submerged in the ocean and is working on growing gills.