Hello! For years I have dreamed of taking a cross-country road trip through the United States. My dream is now a journey — one that began in early June 2024 and ends Thanksgiving 2024. For updates on my adventure or a quick look at who I am, check out my Instagram and personal blog at:

https://www.instagram.com/ustour24na/
www.christianorna.wordpress.com

I'm energetic, friendly, and bright. I try to be good at conversation. I'm curious about things like your favorite music and how/whether public transit works in your area. I can be very sentimental. I always appreciate good humor. I can be bad about things like exercising and flossing every day. I'm even worse about eyes on the road when there are mountains and trees and water and sunsets around. I would say I'm more interested in my life than I have ever been, which feels pretty cool because most of my life, people who are older than I am have been kind of discouraging about what aging is like in the late 20s and beyond. In the coming years, I'm considering writing a memoir, going back to school, and dipping my toes in WorkAway, which mostly tells me that beyond my own chaotic fascinations, I've still got big eyes and a hungry mind and enough nerve to keep trying new things.

I promise I'm not a CS freeloader – I've never hosted before and I know how that looks, but my profile was "Accepting Guests" for over two years when I lived in Pittsburgh – the opportunities just weren't coming. I actually have a funny story about this, please ask me about it! In any event, I do look forward to paying all this great CS karma forward wherever I settle next.

One more thing, a number of hosts have expressed interest in discussing gender and queerness with me, but have shared that they feel uncomfortable bringing it up or are worried about misspeaking. I think that connection is one of the fundamental principles of this website (and of life in general), and I'm pretty hard to offend. Besides, the more people are talking about queerness, the closer queer people get to equity, justice, freedom. My liberation is impossible without yours. So ask me anything! And if I may try and guess what your first question might be: I go by any pronoun (you'll even notice a smattering in my references). In truth, my gender isn't all that important to me. I hope, outside of a normal amount of curiosity, it isn't too important to you either. :)

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

If I spend every night in some hotel, motel, or B and B, I'd rack up quite a bill; I'm Couchsurfing to help keep my costs down. But more than that, the point of this trip is to see the United States. Hard to do that from a hotel room! I’d so prefer to experience each place I visit through the eyes and homes of locals. Couchsurfing connections have offered me some of the most enriching moments in my travels so far.

Interests

• poetry
• graphic design
• wine
• clubbing
• politics
• folk music
• jazz
• camping
• volunteering
• travel
• food
• bars
• marketing
• restaurants
• joni mitchell
• event planning
• lgbtq+
• community service

Music, Movies, and Books

MUSIC:
Joni Mitchell is my favorite artist of all time. If you agree, I want to talk about it! Frank Ocean, Lauryn Hill, Beyonce, Lana Del Rey, Fleetwood Mac, Leif Vollebekk, Valley, Lady Gaga, Tracy Chapman, James Taylor, Aretha Franklin, Nick Drake, Laura Marling, Mac Miller, Michael Jackson, Feist, Carole King, Kate Bush, Marvin Gaye.

Also, I've been crowdsourcing a Spotify playlist called Mosaic, comprised of songs "gifted" to me by the folks I meet on the road. If we meet, I'll ask you to be a part of the project! Even if we don't, you can stream it here:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6rhX1zj8EtTHCrqqQsvuDl?si=5f061cb6b9264d5b

MOVIES:
I'm still kinda becoming a movie watcher. Everything Everywhere All At Once, Tree of Life, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, No Country for Old Men, The Emperor's New Groove, Past Lives, Eraserhead, East of Eden, Tár, Dan in Real Life, Life as We Know It, Spirited Away.

BOOKS:
I read mostly poetry. Some of my favorite poets are Denise Levertov, Jericho Brown, Walt Whitman, Aracelis Girmay, Kaveh Akbar, Mary Oliver, William Shakespeare, Ocean Vuong, Sylvia Plath, Maya C. Popa, Danez Smith, Hanif Abdurraqib, Langston Hughes, Frank O'Hara, and Catherine Barnett.

I'm writing one. Ask me about it, the project is new. :)

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

In college, I spent six months working with North Korean refugees in Seoul, South Korea. I'm also pretty amazed by what I'm doing now. Life is amazing, connection is amazing, survival is amazing. Let's celebrate the wonder of being!

Teach, Learn, Share

Culture exchanges can be pivotal to meaningful encounters between people. If our schedules lend themselves to any quality time together (and if you feel comfortable) I will want to sit down with you and ask you questions — about your life, what you care about, what you’re working on, what you think about the world and how to move through it.

If you have a piano or guitar I’d love to play a little music. I can’t promise quality, but I can promise effort!

I want to brag about Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and tell you why you should visit if you haven't yet.

I'm half Korean and can teach some language/culture. Can't cook Korean food to save my life, though.

What I Can Share with Hosts

One component of this cross-country trip I'm taking is my volunteer work. I'm connecting with nonprofits local to some the places I'm visiting, hoping I can contribute to these organizations with a day of volunteering. I'd love to share that experience with hosts, if possible. Or at least get their recommendations for nonprofits in the area! Language, social, and lifestyle exchanges are important to me too! :)

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, Israel, Palestine, Singapore, South Korea

Countries I’ve Lived In

South Korea, United States