Geometry of Time

When I was younger, I used to harbor a strong disliking towards wandering around without a general direction. My father would have these random impulses to pile everyone in the car without ever mentioning exactly where we were going. When we asked him, he'd say it was a surprise which we learned soon enough meant that he had no idea. He wanted out of the house for awhile, but understandably didn't want to be out by himself. He'd call it "going for a drive" because that sounded better than just "get in." And drive we did. For an entire Saturday or Sunday afternoon. Now for some, or someone, eventually finding a little place to eat or an old fashion car or huge rocks on the side of the road for the garden made the whole outing a success, but for those of us under 12 it meant a backseat stakeout with two of your siblings, arguing about elbow room, window views, radio stations, and who passed gas, none of which sounded very appealing.
Maybe this is how I've garnered such an affection for maps......even then I like to spread them across the walls in my bedroom - Australia, Russia, the Pacific Islands, a mountain trek in South America -ones I had found in my Mom's huge stack of old National Geographic magazines . I used to make my own also, penciling the neighborhood, the local park, or some place that only existed in my imagination. I still have this huge wall map where I once took different color safety pins and indicated all the places I've been, all the places I'd like to go and all the places I must go. When I venture to someone's house for the first time, or meet up with someone, I want a map drawn out with landmarks to guide me. Though my mini-van exploits were harmless and even character builders, I like to know where I'll end up, and what I may encounter.
I thought I would maybe be weened from this need when I went to Europe. Being completely charmed and enamored with the thought of boundless exploring, my friend Steph and I thought we'd just "wing it". However, we were rather ambitious with our travel plans, and visited 8 different cities in 4 different countries in 10 days. We needed a map. We actually needed a few of them to hit all the places we wanted to in such a confined amount of time.
So here, mostly in the beginning, I found myself attempting to follow the same map reference habits. On Friday afternoon or evenings I started spreading out my subway map, flipped through the guide to Seoul book my brother gave me before I left, and begin deciding my weekend destination. I plotted out a couple of places, research the weather, and come to what I believe to be a certain conclusion as to where I'm going. And often I don't end up there. I am constantly humbled by a language barrier, public transportation, and poor navigational techniques on part of the Koreans. I roam the streets as though no one is ever expecting me; I spend hours and miles roaming through parts of the city, up and down and up the same street; in single digit temperatures; through seams and alleyways, circling buildings and dodging vehicles and raindrops.......... And I'm okay with that.