My name is Alys and I live in the heart of downtown Richmond, Virginia. I have a passion for learning, a thirst for experience and a heart wide open to the world.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

From late June to late December 2016, I am venturing out on a backpacking trip to Europe and India. I have had great experiences hosting surfers at my apartment, and now it's time to see the flip side - surfing myself! :) I am excited to see who I will cross paths with and what kinds of fabulous friends I will make.

Interests

I love dancing and nightlife, especially the electronic dance music scene, and am heavily involved in harm reduction work that encourages safer partying practices among the rave and music festival communities. I am also very interested in spirituality and literature. My greatest interest at the moment is in traveling. I want to learn as much as I can in this life by experiencing as many cultures and places as possible. I'm a deep believer in the power of human compassion and connection, and relationships mean everything to me - my goal is to make friends around the world, to prove that the differences between us really can be bridged by mutual understanding and open-mindedness. I enjoy writing and blogging. I'm also interested in a variety of human rights and social justice issues such as feminism and drug policy reform.

• writing
• literature
• music festivals
• festivals
• dancing
• education
• human rights
• womens rights
• chocolate
• nightlife
• partying
• raves
• traveling
• blogging
• music
• dance music
• backpacking
• surfing
• teaching

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: Electronic dance music (drum and bass, house, trance, ambient, chillstep, techno, breaks, glitch hop, dubstep, hardstyle, etc.), classic rock, oldies, 80's and 90's, jam music, jamtronica, reggae, acoustic, alternative rock, country, bluegrass, worship music - I enjoy pretty much everything, honestly, but my favorite band in the universe is M83.

Movies: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Mean Girls, Black Swan, Titanic, Her, The Hours, Requiem for a Dream, Donnie Darko, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Signs, The Butterfly Effect, The Notebook, Grandma's Boy, V for Vendetta, Borat, Bridesmaids, Fried Green Tomatoes, Juno, Gran Torino, The Invention of Lying, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, any old 80's movies, any B horror movies

Books: A House in the Sky, The God of Small Things, Harry Potter, Sophie's Choice, Life of Pi, anything by Richard Bach, The Giver, Little Bee, holy/spiritual books (The Bible, the Bhagavad Gita, Siddhartha, Be Here Now, etc.), anything by Aldous Huxley (my hero), anything by James Joyce, POETRY (Rilke, Rumi, Whitman, Akhmatova, Dickinson, Yeats, Hughes, Frost, Poe, Olds, Silverstein, Plath, Bishop, Soto, cummings...the list is endless)

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I started a chapter of the nonprofit organization DanceSafe in the DC/Richmond/Baltimore area. Our organization provides harm reduction services and education at raves, music festivals, and nightclubs, handing out free water, condoms, ear plugs, educational literature, etc. to help people party more safely.

Teach, Learn, Share

I love having conversations about the things that really matter in life. Let's talk!

What I Can Share with Hosts

I am a kind, enthusiastic person who would love to share my life experiences with anyone who takes me in, as well as learn about yours. I'm low-maintenance and don't need much to be comfortable, just a warm place to lay my head. I make a mean peanut butter-oatmeal-chocolate chip cookie recipe and I'm well-known for my random, thoughtful little gifts to those who welcome me into their place. Also, I'm a writer and I'd love to leave you with a poem about my stay in your city/state/country - something to remember me by! :)

Countries I’ve Visited

Ireland

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States