Public Transportation

Living in Korea has become a culture shock for a number of different reasons. The obvious aside, this is the first time in my adult (or at least old enough to be allowed to go out on my own) that I've lived in such a big city (yes, I know that I don't actually live in Seoul, but it's close enough). This is also the first time that I've lived anywhere in which public transportation is the preferable option. For my first several months here, I only used the subway. I couldn't really read hangul and I didn't know enough about where I was going to want to chance getting off at the wrong stop and then just getting lost.

Then came the weekend we went to Busan. I had a choice - I could get up at 5am and take the subway, or I could sleep until 7 and take the M4101. Guess which one won? The M4101 was actually a good "first step" bus because it has this convenient light-up sign that shows where you are on the route and a marquee sign that alternates between Korean and English (which, as I've discovered as time's gone on, is usually malfunctioning). A few weeks later, we had to take the 8201 to Gangnam, and I realized that I totally recognized the whole area and totally could do this By Myself. I stopped taking the subway and was bus-only.

Until the battle started. The M4101 is convenient, but not without a price. The M busses don't allow you to stand, so once all the seats are filled, that's it. And everyone who lives in Suji wants to be on the M4101 when coming back from north-eastern Seoul. It got to the point in which I would dread coming into the city because I just wasn't looking forward to the ride home (as Tim knows, that dread wasn't enough to stop me from our almost weekly meetings in Myeong-dong =p). I'm also not a general fan of the whole pre-boarding zoo. Koreans, who are polite people, become pushy and impatient when a bus or subway shows up. They crowd to the beginning of the line, and act as if the world is melting behind them and their only escape is that bus.

So, getting to the thought behind this entry (yay long preludes), tonight wound up with me on the opposite side of Seoul than I originally intended (I was supposed to meet a friend for TACO BELL which just opened in Korea, but he totally stood me up - otherwise, this entry would've been about how Taco Bell is just one of those American things that's impossible to explain to non-meeguks). I had a choice: line 2 to Gangnam and 8201 home, or just keep taking the train back to Suji. Being that it's been a while since I've spent quality time with the Bundang line (last time was either Aaron's Last Weekend or the time I was refused entry to the M4101 and had the convo with Tim about how I felt like Rosa Parks), I decided to take the train home. Man, it takes longer, but it is so much nicer! None of that traffic nonsense! It's so much quieter! The walk home is a pain, but it also made me feel less guilty about the....things I've eaten and probably shouldn't have *^^*.

With today not involving meeting Edward (oh he gets a name on the blog!) in Itaewon (omg, yes, my first visit to Itaewon - which I've successfully avoided for the entire 5 and a half months I've been here - resulted in me getting stood up! Jerkface...), Tim came to my social rescue and invited me to crash his dinner party with our mutual friend, Siobhain (yes, Macbook spell-check, she *does* spell her name with 2 i's), who has introduced me to the knitting world of foreigners in Seoul. She also sold me some of her stash yarn, which is pretty sweet seeing as my supply is running a bit low.. She lives near the Sports Complex, which is an insanely beautiful area! I'm adding that to one of the places I'd like to live while I'm still in Korea.