End reward of our hike yesterday
I'm traveling with my cousin Ben for all but the UK portion of my European leg. He was visiting his girlfriend studying in Italy and then met me in Split. He assumed this to be a terrific opportunity to learn from an expert traveler. The truth is he had more Europe experience than me by the time we met (had previously been to only Paris, Strausburg, and had a random fried chicken lunch and paddle boat ride in an unknown German town during a 2008 trip).
Our differences humor me:
He went to Mizzou (and insists on wearing this atrocious Tiger hat). I'm a proud Jayhawk.
His crime was wearing Mizzou shit.
He's had internships at Goldman Sachs. I'd like to see parts of that firm prosecuted. We actually shared a shuttle with a British guy who worked at Ben's same large accounting firm. They talked shop for half an hour as I stared out the window and bit my tongue as they discussed opportunities for work rotations in the Cayman Islands.
He packed incredibly thoroughly other than clothes. I brought too many clothes, yet forgot a towel, charger, left my toothbrush in NY, etc. People also bought him 3 Europe guide books, all of which are here.
He checks in with his family consistently. I think my Aunt Mary then relays the info to my mom. "Mike's still alive. I saw him walking around the background of our Skype."
He's been super adventurous with food. I'm slowly getting there.
He has his brother's unfortunate sense of direction, while I might be the reincarnation of some kind of expert Sioux tracker.
There are several other examples. Ben originally sent me an Excel spreadsheet during the planning stages of this trip. I thought, "oh boy, this ain't gonna work out." But we seem to have struck a perfect balance of planning and flexibility. Our strengths and weaknesses balance each other out. We've had a ton of fun so far and I don't see that changing. I'm traveling with a great dude and him being close family is a bonus.
"He has his brother's unfortunate sense of direction, while I might be the reincarnation of some kind of expert Sioux tracker."
ReplyDeleteAre you kidding me? You can't watch an episode of "Saved By The Bell" without getting lost.
A. I just got us out of a hairy situation in the Slovenian woods on instinct alone. B. I am loving your one man peanut galleryness. C. You are going to have to do a guest blog post when we are in India.
ReplyDeleteIs Nick going to India with you??!! What the heck, we couldn't even get him to come to STL for the Cards/Royals series. I'm jealous. Also, Chrissy and I discussed how we do not remember you having said Sioux Tracker sense of direction, but I guess now I know who to call next time I'm stuck in the Slovenian woods. Miss you!
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