Planes, trians and automo...buses?!?!?

So, the Korean public transportation system and I have become fast friends....considering I must take a 40 or so minute bus ride to get to downtown Bucheon and then a ride and at least one subway transfer to Seoul, it is a good thing I like her so much. 

The subway system...oh how I love thee!! Seriously, this is the best system I have seen or used in any country I have been to. It is so efficient and clean...I am not sure that I can ever bear to ride the L after this. While at first the subway system can seem so elaborate that it is confusing, as soon as you get the hang of it, it is amazing. It is so fast and huge...oh yeah and smooth. I rode it the entire way to Seoul the other day without so much as having to hang on...on the L,  I would have been in my 3 pt. L stance...you know the one...hand grabbing whatever it is you can find to hold on to, and then feet apart, one slightly in front of the other for balance...oh no, not here, it is a thing of the past. It runs on an electric rail, so it is high-speed and bumpless(virtually). As for its enormity, each car is probably equivalent to 2 L cars, and I don't even know how many cars there are...let's put it this way...you can not see the end of it when it is pulling into a station.The subway is also so easy to use once you get on...they have these TV screen monitors that list the stop in Korean( Hangu)l and English...and b/c it is not so noisy with the sound of the car jerking on the tracks, you can actually hear the announcement of the stops, even if you can't see the monitor....awesome!! And the last thing I love about the subway...the station layout. The stations are massive, but the have different exits...duh....but, the exits are marked, like exit 3 or exit 8, so it makes it super convenient for meeting people!! Despite how large the subway, it seems to always be packed...no matter what day of the week or what time of day!! Nonetheless, packed in like sardines and all, I heart the subway.

The bus is a bit different story!! It is not so English user-friendly....especially an English user who has no idea where she is going. I used the bus for the first time to meet a co-teacher at the hospital so I could have my health check. She told me what bus to take and what stop to get off at. Sounds easy enough....right?? I thought so to....

I get to the bus stop and wait for my bus, I get on the 50-1...yes!! No!!!!! I get on to see that the bus is even more crowded than the subway...so I will have to smash myself into the middle. The signs are SMALL, and the romanized version of the Hangul name of the stop looks microscopic....so not panicking yet, I listen to see if I can hear the stops being announced. I can hear them...but, no English on this bus!! The stops are being said in Korean....yikes!! Panic sets in!! How will I ever find my stop on this bus?!? And to make matters worse, the windows are soooo fogged up that you can't see out of them...no visual clues to aid me either. Luckily, several stops later, the bus clears out and I can get close enough to a map to read it. I listen, and find the stop where are at and then am able to locate my stop...success!! I made it to the hospital!! When I went exploring Bucheon the other day, I remembered that the 70-2 bus had also stopped at my stop, so I decided to try and take it home, since it was still light out and all. It turns out to be shorter than the other bus route, and takes me to a couple important places, most importantly...the subway!! 

my stop...Bucheon, line one(dark blue), exit 3

always packed...this is a Sunday night around 10pm

the subway stations that have glass doors that don't open until the train has arrived...suicide prevention i've been told

Socks with Sandals...

Getting back to where we left off....shoes...or lack thereof. As I mentioned in my previous post, Koreans take their shoes off pretty much everywhere, including school. Now I know where the stereotype about Koreans wearing socks with sandals comes from...they have their indoor shoes and their outdoor shoes. When you enter the school, you take off your outdoor shoes and slip into your indoor shoes, which for the teachers at my school at least, consists of open-toed sandals...yep just slide them right on over your sock. You then switch your foot attire one more time when you enter the classroom into slippers...good thing I didn't think I needed my UGG slippers right away!! You might be wondering...what is with all the removing and switching of shoes...right? Good question. As far as I can tell and from what I have heard, it is done out of respect(and tradition) ...respect for the place you are entering, respect for the people around you and respect for cleanliness. From what I have read, the tradition started as a way to keep the floors clean in the house, which goes hand in hand with the custom of sitting on the floor during meals...who wants to sit on a dirty floor?!?

This has definitely taken some getting used to on my part...not so much removing my shoes to enter a home, but school and a restaurant...that is another story. As most of you know...I don't wear flats...as a matter of fact, I didn't even own a pair of flats(other than gym shoes) until I went to wine country in August( I think it was). I went out and bought a pair of flats figuring that walking around all day in heels or Jack Rogers sandals was not the way to go. So, to say that I do not like wearing flats, the only pair of which I have here at the moment are my Converses, with my pencil skirts, would be dead accurate...but, alas, I must.

My "indoor" outfit

Tights w/ connys...hot!