Hey baby, what’s your sign?

I’ve never taken horoscopes and the like that seriously, but I’ve found them fun to read nonetheless. Whoever comes up with these things are good at making them just general enough that there’s always something true in them, so that those who believe can happily do their thing and those who don’t, can likewise go about their business with their perspective of the world unchallenged.

That said, I am very much a Cancer. The crab is known for being a homebody who is close to family, has a special affiliation for water, and doesn’t react very well to change.

But at the same time, do you know what I love?

Traveling.

Following winding paths and discovering waterfalls; trying strange foods; sharing awkward (stressful) conversations with people with whom you don’t share a common language; learning as much as I can about different cultures.

As you can imagine, I have a very special relationship with traveling, and thus every time I decide on taking another trip, things go kind of like this:

Me: Okay, okay. How does Korea sound?
Brain: You can’t speak Korean.
Me: Yeah but Seoul is pretty English-friendly and we’ll be with a friend who can speak some of the language.
Brain: What if you get separated? You won’t have a cell phone.
Me: It’s cool they have wi-fi and-
Brain: No you’re not listening. What if you wind up all by yourself in a country where you can’t speak a single word of the language and piss someone off and can’t find your hostel and-
Me: Brain-
Brain: -and to top it all off you’ll miss your flight because by now your wallet will have disappeared somewhere along the line-
Me: Brain.
Brain: -and you’ll have to wash dishes for a living like one of those manga characters-
Me: Brain.
Brain: What?!
Me: Here’s an itinerary detailing where I’m going and how long I’ll be there. I’m emailing it to friends so the cavalry can come find us if something goes wrong. We cool?
Brain: …
Me: …
Brain: …Tell me more about Korea.