of things to come.

This summer I have one thing on my mind: China. Well, also finding a job (among other things) but mostly China. In the end of June I'll embark on my journey to the Far East. I'm actually going to visit my father who has been working there for quite some time now. I don't know why I never thought about visiting him before but I hope this will be one of many visits to see him. Besides, it will contribute to my pursuit to fill every page of my passport.

Usually when I travel, I don't plan where and what I want to do. I leave it to chance, I suppose. At the very least I want to taste the food and meet the people. But for this trip I would like to visit the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture (연변 조선족 자치주/延邊朝鮮族自治州). The people that live in this area are ethnically Korean but live in China and speak both Korean and Chinese. I'm curious to see how these Koreans differ in dialect, food, and culture compared to the Korean culture that I am familiar with. There is no doubt that there will be a strong influence of Chinese culture and I'd like to see how this causes deviations in its Korean culture in this "Third Korea."

Something that I have noticed about myself is that though I enjoy traveling, I tend to get cold feet; I get nervous about leaving what I know. And I feel this is proof of how terribly conformed I can be with my life. But it only pushes me to want to see the world more. It is definitely courage of a different kind.

Listening to "A Vizinho do Lado" by Roberta Sá