Mass Transit!

Weaver Adventure Blog for Week of June 18, 2012

Embracing Mass Transit

So as promised, today I really did leave the car parked and walk around the corner to my friendly neighborhood bus stop. I had done my homework and knew I wanted “Trunk Bus 153”.  These “Trunk” buses are somewhere between a local bus with many stops, and an express bus with very few stops.  I was told this Bus 153 would take me within a block of the office. I knew it would be blue. 

 I had the Seoul Bus App launched on my Iphone. 

 I had arranged for a special ATM card that doubles as a transit card (T-Money card) and allows the bus fare to just come directly from my bank account.  It was in my pocket.  I had my computer bag, and was, of course, fashionably dressed. 

I envisioned a bit of a wait, and even entertained the idea of popping in the coffee shop 20 feet (3m) from the stop.  (There is a 1:1 coffee shop:citizen ratio in Seoul, but more on that another time.) Good thing I didn’t, because as I approached the stop, so did Trunk Bus 153 – my bus to work!  I hopped on behind 5 or 6 other people, waved my T-Money card by the sensor (which beeped a welcome), and squeezed onto the bus.

I say squeezed because the bus was pretty full.   Or so I thought.  With each stop a few people would get off, and a dozen would get on.  I lucked into a seat during one of these exchanges, and watched as the bus continued to fill to absolute maximum.  It was interesting to see how everyone behaved in what I am discovering is the norm in Seoul.  People were courteous, relaxed, and flexible – moving a little this way and that to allow people on and off.  Pretty much everyone was using a smart phone to watch, listen, read, or write something.  It is a very smartphone based community.  I was mostly just watching others and noting what was going on around me.

While the bus is very tidy and free of litter, graffiti, etc., it can get really packed with people during peak times.  My advice to others with little experience using mass transit who might be thinking of starting a daily bus or subway commute in a large city is to read through this list of phobias.  If you have one, or any combination of them, seek professional help prior to boarding.  The list is not exhaustive:

Aphenphosmphobia

Amaxophobia

Anthropophobia

Bromidrosiphobia

Bacillophobia

Bacteriophobia

Cenophobia

Claustrophobia

Cleithrophobia

Demophobia

Genuphobia

Misophobia

Phronemophobia

Scopophobia

Tachophobia

Fortunately, I don’t suffer (much) from any of these, so my commute on the bus to work was an unmitigated success.  I left the apartment at 8:22.25 and arrived at the office at 9:00.13 (see below).  So it took about 10 minutes longer than driving in a car, but ecologically, sociologically, psychologically, logistically, and practically, it all worked out.  Now to get back home….

Until next time.

Weaver

Just Landed

Weaver Adventure Blog for Week of June 11, 2012

We Made It!

Final Feast at Feast

First of all, thank you all for your comments and words of encouragement leading up to our travel day.  I really appreciate them.  Keep ‘em coming, and if you wonder about anything Weaver Adventure related you want me to write about, let me know.

So, after many long days in the final push to actually leave Bloomington, we locked the door last Sunday and took off. 

Urban Assault Vehicle

Our monster rental car  was packed pretty tightly, but all of our luggage and the dogs’ carriers fit inside with room to spare for the four of us.   Our drive to Detroit was uneventful, if you ignore our carbon footprint, and we checked into the airport hotel and tried to get some sleep before our flight Monday.

The flight was, surprisingly, a piece of cake.  After all that hand-wringing about the dogs, they slept in their little crates and made nary a peep the whole way.  One of the flight attendants was a rabid lover of dogs and helped us get them settled and brought them ice cubes from time to time as recommended by people who travel frequently with pets.  The kids watched movies and stayed awake for most of the flight, which was only 12.5 hours instead of the 14 I had experienced in the past. 

Our Apartment Building

Once in the terminal in Korea, the dog importation process was also very simple – a couple of forms to sign and we were through.  The ride we had arranged was waiting for us, and we arrived at our apartment building at 5:00 p.m.  Jangled, to be sure, but happy that all had gone so smoothly.

This past week we have been unpacking, finding the critical stores in the neighborhood (see below), and trying to get over our jet lag.  

The dogs were really out of it and slept for the better part of two days. When they did get up, they just staggered around looking dazed.  They might say the same about us in their blog if they had one.  

Luna Dazed

Gizmo Crashed

The kids and we are still waking up at 5:00 a.m., but that will pass over the next week or so. 

All in all, we are doing very well.

This week I plan to start taking the bus to work.  That will be a little bit of an adventure as I have never really used public transportation with any consistency.  I will let you know how it goes.

Until next time.

Weaver

Ice Cream Shop

Bread and Pastry Shop

Haven't Actually Been Here Yet