Sometimes you can find Playboy Club model Brooke Shears in her native Carolinas. Sometimes it’s Los Angeles. Sometimes it’s Switzerland. Sometimes it’s Colombia. Despite her jam-packed schedule, Playboy somehow managed to pin down the uber-busy world traveler and medical worker, a cheerful self-professed nerd who discussed exotic fashion, exotic animals, and exotic coffee.

Playboy: Did you have a vibe about Playboy before you posed?

Brooke: I’m from the Carolinas, where it’s very conservative, so I didn’t know too much. I didn’t have a lot of friends growing up, [partly] because I was trying to figure out my own self, so I [needed a form of] escapism. All I knew was that [Playboy featured] a lot of really pretty girls who were being silly and goofy in their pictorials. I was like, Okay, that looks like something that I would like to do and I’d love to go to Los Angeles, but I had so much anxiety that I just couldn’t get up and go to California when I turned 18. [Connecting with Playboy] online changed all that.

Playboy: Has your experience with us been what you thought it would be?

Brooke: Oh, it’s been ten times better. I met a lot of my very good friends through Playboy. It’s a really good community, very supportive.

Playboy: You’ve become a big-time jet-setter. Give us one of your dream places to visit.

Brooke: I was into anime when I was a kid, so Tokyo is on my bucket list. When I get there, I want to just let my inner geek out and experience everything.

Playboy: Are you a sushi person?

Brooke: I love sushi. I actually worked at a Japanese restaurant.

Playboy: Well, when you get to Japan, you have to taste everything.

Brooke: I will! I’m so excited.

Playboy: Describe your perfect day.

Brooke: A day off! [Laughs] I’ll be in one of my favorite vacation spots and I’ll sleep in until 9:00, maybe 11:00, and wake up to an espressotini.

Playboy: It seems like everybody I interview here wants to wake up to an espressotini.

Brooke: I love them. They used to be a go-to vacation thing, but now I have one wherever I’m at. I also like exploring new cities. That’s my perfect day.

Playboy: What do you obsess about?

Brooke: I just love fashion. If [something beautiful] catches my eye, it makes me feel better. Fashion is definitely art. And I love chocolate. Hershey’s used to be my [favorite], but when I had chocolate in Switzerland, I was like, Oh, this is the real stuff. Now if I see M&Ms, I’m like, Yeah, no, thank you.

Playboy: If you were to write your autobiography, what would be the title?

Brooke: Memoirs of a Video Vixen.

Playboy: I’d totally read that. What’s your superpower?

Brooke: I have great intuition. I come from a family of intuitive women, and [we] can pick up on things and even have some minimal foresight into the future. We’re not mediums, but we can be like, Hey, you’re going to get good news today.

Playboy: Will I get some good news today?

Brooke: [Laughs] Maybe in two months. Good things come to those who wait.

Playboy: Tell us something surprising about yourself. Like, really surprising.

Brooke: Okay, this is gonna make me sound like a nerd, but I have a background in science, and I have a degree in marketing, and also in biology, so I read a lot of science journals and try to figure out what new diseases are out there, or what new animals have been discovered in the West Indies. I like to go right down those rabbit holes.

Playboy: Finally, what do you most want to change about the world?

Brooke: We need more acceptance. Growing up, I [sometimes] felt excluded, but when I started traveling out to L.A., I found I was more accepted and celebrated, so I want to celebrate people. We should just love each other.

Brooke is on The Playboy Club. Talk to her now.