I am 22 year old Korean American born and raised in Hawaii but studying in University of California, Santa Barbara on my fourth year.

I recently returned from studying in the immersion program of University of Granada, Spain and majored in Political Science with an emphasis in international relations and theory.

I used to volunteer with students with autism for 4 years in high school and did child care for 2. I was involved in my sorority and last year, I was a Residential Assistant at my University where I had to help students, including foreign exchange students, transition into a college life/culture and create programs for a community (It was basically a 24/7 job and I lived in the dormitories but it was so worth it)

I attended 5 elementary schools and 3 high schools and was always moving about so adjusting to my new environment and facing culture shock isn't new to me.

Now that I'm graduated and finished Interning at a Congresswomans office, im funemployed and plan on applying for grad school in education policy or international relations.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

To disperse myself into different, rich cultural exchanges. I don't want to be a tourist, but a traveller who truly grows from these experiences and memories/new friends made around the world.
I've met the coolest people from couch surfing and traveling

Interests

-Cooking
-Baking
-Singing (performances/talent shows/open mics..being on stage is exhilarating)
-Piano (by ear self taught)
-Ukulele (Hawaii elementary school forced us to learn)
-Guitar
-Viola (Orchestra--placed in an advanced orchestra not knowing how to even play the basic scale and after practicing until my fingers bled everyday, earned my way to first chair in less than two years)
-Hiphop Dance (Got to meet and hang out with many famous dancers because of my cousin babywockee. My favorite experience was staying in the home of Kevin B from Jabbawockeez and playing with his 3 beautiful children--celebrities are normal people too haha
-Songwriting/Spoken word
-Art (mainly sketching)
-Watching pranks & random funny cat videos or sloths on youtube :3
-producing/editting videos
-Instagram: zavagezong

Music, Movies, and Books

Shows:
Friends
Parks & Rec
Family Guy
How I Met Your Mother
Bad Grandpa
Anything that can make me laugh to deep thought-provoking movies
Miyazaki Films

Books:
Lord of the Flies
Animal Farm
The Help
The Kite Runner
Night
Stargirl
The Alchemist

Been busy reading a lot of philosophers including but not limited to Nietzsche, Rousseau, Smith, Marx, Friedrich, Hayek, Tolstoy, Schmitt, Plato, Descartes, Kant and Locke.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Morocco: Rode a camel on the beach, went to the Hammam with natives & learned how to pour tea according to Moroccan customs.

Spain: Studied at Granada University for 6 months and took all my courses in Spanish. Got 2 A+'s and 1 A out of my 5 classes. Learned how to make tapas under a Spanish chef. I made real Spanish friends and immensely improved my Spanish. Biked through Barcelona in a day. Tried Piononos in 5 different locations and found the best churros con chocolate in a small shop owned by a cute old lady.

England: Spent 1 week looking through London for as many political street art I could find, especially Banksy's framed arts. It was quite an adventure. I made random friends along the way.

Hungary: I swam in the outdoor Széchenyi Thermal bath while it was snowing.

Hawaii: I went "ghosthunting" and snuck into an abandoned burnt down hospital with my coworker and her friends.

Netherlands: After reading and analyzing Anne Frank's Diary 3-4 times (Wrote essays/did a play on it at different schools I attended), I finally got to visit her house in Amsterdam. It was a privilege.

Belgium: I got drunk and befriended the manager of one of the most famous bars in Brussels where I went beertasting. She gave me several drinks, snacks and shots on the house and both she and her other worker opened up to me about what life was like in Belgium (She was a Moroccan Muslim raised in Belgium).

Germany: Fell in love.

Italy: I hitchhiked with a man and his 17 year old daughter who both only knew Italian from the airport to the center of the city, which was a 50 minute drive. My flight was delayed so I missed the last train. I also convinced a waiter to let me eat at his restaurant on new years without a reservation, befriended the hostel worker who shared with me his experiences about being raised in India, and learned what to do when someone steals my passport. Yes, during new years, someone threw fireworks at me and in the midst of it all, someone managed to steal my passport and phone charger :( But it's all a learning experience!

Czech Republic: Discovered a new favorite food. Drank a house beer made in a bar made of skulls and bones.

Vienna: Drank mozart's drink in a shoe cup with natives at a christmas market. Ate real vienna sausage, not like the american ones in the can but Tbh those are good and cheap too..

What I Can Share with Hosts

Corny pickup lines and cringeworthy puns
Philosophical Conversations about political theory and life
Language exchange (Korean, Japanese & Spanish--and of course english)
I can cook/bake as long as I am able to find ingredients and you have the supplies! :) I'd love to make you something!
If you also play instruments, we can jam because I play 5 (all self-taught though, i'm no professional haha)
I grew up in Hawaii and know the culture inside out (and even speak Pidgin English) if you would like to learn about it
I'm clean and respectful, considering I've stayed with many different people/famlies growing up
My cousin is Little Babywockee and performed with the Jabbawockeez on So you think you can dance! :)

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, England, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Morocco, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, South Korea, Spain

Countries I’ve Lived In

Spain, United States