Oh! Well. Theoretically he can in fact answer questions about himself, although... John is not always comfortable doing that.

"California!" He answers anyway, "nice place. It's warm, coastal. Good beaches."

Was, he supposes. The tense thing always gets him. It feels weird to use past tense about a place he hasn't really... seen destroyed. Just been... told about. A detached sort of feeling. Something you're aware is real but doesn't quite feel real yet.