Hi! Feel free to call me Ashley or Ash. For too long of a time in my life I felt shy and socially awkward, but I've grown into a more confident and outgoing person due to traveling and positive interactions with strangers. I'm very relaxed, openminded and always ready to have a good time.

My drives/joys: Being in new places with new people, hearing and attempting languages I'm not yet fluent in, eating food I've never tried, appreciating music (from playing piano to seeing a concert live to sharing headphones on public transit), and laughing (as well as making people laugh). Just to name a few.

Despite all the positivity and typical travel-cheesiness on my profile, I adore and emit sarcasm and dry humor. Please tell me all your knee-slappin' jokes.

Speaking of cheesiness - there are many quotes I like to live by: "Strangers are just friends waiting to happen" and "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." Yeah, I know, I know. I hope you read that part in an obnoxious American girl accent to get the full effect.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I have always loved the idea of Couchsurfing and finally got to surf for the first time in 2015. It was amazing then and continues to be now.

Weird, open-minded conversations are my favorite. I feel like I can really talk about anything so, go for it.

I'd also love to host someday but as of now I am merely a traveler/friend-maker.

**Meet Up Note: If travelers are in the area, reach out if you need people to show you the city and explore with! I'll try my best to make something work for an adventure. There are many different areas of Phoenix-Metropolitan area that can be fun. Hiking and day trips are strongly encouraged. If you're going up to the Grand Canyon area, try to hike to Havasupai! One of the most gorgeous areas I've ever been to. If you can't make it to Havasupai, go to Sedona. There's also plenty of hikes in the area, no need to drive 2+ hours.

Interests

Aerial arts (think Cirque du Soleil), contortion, yoga, photography, meditation, music, live music, language-learning, arcade-merriment, volunteering, cinematography, reading, hiking, paddleboarding, kayaking, reading, having adventures.

I finished my undergrad in sustainability, urban planning, and GIS at ASU. It was great conducting research, meeting people like Timothy Beatley (Biophilic Cities), and working every day to create positive change on a variety of scales.

My academic studies reflect my lifestyle, as I try my best to live as zero waste as possible (and I'm still learning/improving constantly), invest in my community through local purchases and volunteering, etc. My love of urban design was born abroad, where I have been lucky enough to study vibrant cities across the globe. Sense of place, ecological design, architecture, yes, yes, yes. I'm definitely a nerd about this kind of stuff, so we can talk about it all day, if you're interested, hahah.

Taking breaks from city-walking for a small coffee and pastries interests me as well. Along those lines, chocolate is one of my favorite things in the world...I'm always happy to treat my hosts/friends along the way.

• culture
• architecture
• design
• photography
• concerts
• chocolate
• wine
• coffee
• yoga
• movies
• reading
• traveling
• music
• hiking
• kayaking
• surfing
• history
• languages
• science
• volunteering
• road trips
• wwoof
• circus
• sustainability
• craft beer
• exploring new places
• urban planning
• urban farming
• aerial arts

Music, Movies, and Books

I listen to everything but country. Recently I've been listening to a lot of electronic, indie, rock, and classical music. Queen is my all time favorite band and I will karaoke with you any time to any of their songs, especially if alcohol is involved (Oh, Brussels...). The Shins, Radiohead, Bright Eyes are a few other favorite bands.

As for movies, there are way too many to name. Hmm...Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Fight Club, American Beauty, Death Proof, Inglourious Bastards, Seven, About a Boy, Buddy, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series (books & movies) (Swedish and American), Blue is the Warmest Color, Good Will Hunting, The Fall, foreign films, documentaries.

Any books by Chuck Palahniuk and Augusten Burroughs. Patrick Rothfuss, too. Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Life of Pi, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, the Name of the Wind...Again, just naming a few. I love watching movies and reading.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I can touch my tongue to my elbow. I know, I know, you don't believe me - but I'll show you!

Camped out in my car in an underground parking lot in order to attend a music festival in Los Angeles. Good times.

I've done some spiffy backbending in my contortion classes. Did two duo lyra performances, hope to do more.

Rode a camel and camped under the full moon in the Sahara Desert (Morocco)!

I have gone on many road trips throughout the United States with my family. These experiences ignited my passion for travel. I went to Europe for the first time in summer 2012 and it was incredible. The architecture, culture, food, people, everything. Every day I am itching to go, go, go.

Teach, Learn, Share

Teach - Flexibility/contortion/yoga stretches, how to boil water (that truly seems to be the extent of my cooking skills...Sans zoodles and pesto), how to enjoy every bite of food/become a foodie, sustainability topics, Queen lyrics, a ridiculous amount of knowledge on Pokemon (the first two seasons/regions) [thanks to my nerdy childhood and the release of Pokemon Go for this being cool again].

Learn - Anything and everything. Languages, recipes, favorite hole-in-the-wall joint, etc. I love learning and like to think I've kept my child-like curiosity.

Share - See the next section. :)

What I Can Share with Hosts

Instant friendship, open-mindedness, endless conversation, enjoyable silence when conversation is not needed, laughter, chocolate, a bottle of wine/glass of beer/other merriment, cooking partner (not my best area, but I'm learning), help around the house, Netflix marathons when we just want to relax, being the ultimate adventure buddy...I also love having picnics.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, England, France, Germany, Mexico, Morocco, Poland, Spain

Countries I’ve Lived In

Czech Republic, United States