Life Changes

This life change is all about one third grade vocabulary word. Definition: The movement of people or goods.

Transportation for us has changed immensely. We have lived our entire lives to this point completely reliant on personal automobiles. Getting from A to B was no problema.

Step 1: Enter vehicle at point A.
Step 2: Push firmly against the pedal on the right and direct your vehicle towards the landing place (optional: adjust temperature, entertainment, and comfort to satisfy).
Step 3: Find the closest available spot to the intended destination to minimize walking.
Step 4: Exit vehicle and walk to point B.

Simple and effective. It was nearly a never-fail situation. Car broken down? No problem, there are so many options! You could always borrow someone's car. Practically everyone has one, some people even with spares. If that doesn't work out, you could always ask someone for a ride. If you can't secure one of these options, you can always cancel your plans. All else fails, you're not left with much: Public transportation or your own two legs.

Nowadays, walking and public transit are our only options. And you know what? It is pretty awesome.

First of all, using our legs for a longer distance than the 100 ft from door to door we were used to, has been incredibly refreshing.

It may be a little busy and require some dodging at times; actually all the time. This is a regular neighborhood street and we've to date never seen any sort of traffic regulation signs or equipment with the exception of main roads and highways. Even on these main roads a RED light means "stop...if you feel like it and you can't dodge the object in front of you. Once your path is clear (even if by inches) you have permission to go".

No worries about breaking the law either. We've seen 3 patrol cars in the last 6 months...only one with its lights on. We live in this giant city and...literally in the center of this heavily populated metropolis and hear sirens once a month. Even with these potentially dangerous driving practices, using our own two legs for 85% of our transportation needs has been quite nice. Not having to rely on anybody, or any object but your own body gives a much appreciated feeling of independence.

Unfortunately this city is enormous and walking won't take us everywhere we need to go. The Seoul Metro System is pretty incredible for our underground travel...

It may be crowded, but it is always cool and incredibly reliable. Not to mention it goes just about everywhere in Seoul.

If you're curious, we are located near the Seolleung Station (find where the green and yellow lines intersect).

Finally, there is the bus system. The bus system is also extremely efficient and it seems, at times, that more people use it than the subway. We don't take the bus as often as we would like or should. The bus gives a constant tour of Seoul - there is so much to see. We've had a few major fails on the bus but we continue to try it when we have extra time for travel. Some of you may remember this bus incident this story.

We have come to adore the various modes of transportation. I still miss this beauty, which is currently residing at mom and pop Haws's place, and often think of the day when I get to drive it again.


But for the rest of our lives, we hope our dependence on automobiles won't be as heavy.