Transportation Observations

So I've been watching for a while, now. It's easy to do, really, when you're in a foreign country that speaks a language you don't... But after six months of observing, I find it's time to share.

First: The Bus.
Buses don't like to stop. Hold on tight. Also, I've found that some of the passengers that I ride with every morning have preferences regarding which side of the bus they sit on. Sounds strange? Maybe it is. But I do understand. You see, the sun shines in really brightly from the right side of the bus in the morning. So the left side is better then. On the way home, it's the opposite. There's one woman who is usually on the bus with me, and one morning I sat next to her (left side). It was in one of the back seats. Halfway through our journey, she got up and sat two rows in front of me. I was taken aback! At first, my thoughts were, "Is she offended that I'm a foreigner? Do I smell? Is my iPod up too loud?" But this morning, she did it again. She was sitting one row in front of me (right side) and got up to move up one row (left side). My philosophy on that is that it's the morning, and I would like to move as little as possible in the morning. Apparently she and others on my bus don't share my anti-morning sentiments.

Also, when I first arrived in Korea, there was a woman I would see walking almost every morning. She has rather sharp features, really. I hadn't seen her for a few months until this morning. I saw her again! It was strangely comforting... Haha (I'm totally not creepy or anything.)

Another thing to note about public transportation is that you don't really raise your voice above a soft indoor voice. Unless you're young and with a bunch of your friends. It's best to take up as little space as possible, too. Common courtesy for those about to sit next to you. :)


Second: The Subway
Not really much different from the bus, except for the fact that it's a really smooth ride. If you stand in line with the direction of the train, you probably won't almost fall. And by that, I mean having one side of your body pointing toward the direction the train is heading, and the other pointed toward the direction the train is leaving. Don't stand facing the direction the train is going. You will end up looking like you're dancing as you try to catch your balance.

The elderly get seats before the young folks, as it should be. Most of the subway rides I've taken I end up standing. I don't really mind, though. Public transportation is like a good lullaby here. If I sit down, I will want to sleep. The subways are clean, and it's not unlikely that there will be someone walking through trying to sell something. Sometimes they're useful items, sometimes they boggle my mind.

Subways are also really fun to watch people fall asleep. Most people are absorbed into their smartphone, but sometimes you get awesome faces on the people who've passed out.


Public transportation here is quite effective. Sure, driving a car yourself or taking a taxi would be the quickest way to get anywhere, but the public transit is cheap and reliable. One thing I do hope I pick up while I'm here, though, is the ability to fall asleep and wake up right before my stop. Like clockwork. I've seen it so many times, and boy am I jealous.


That's it for this post! A bit strange, but I wanted to write something and I don't have anything fun or interesting going on until next weekend when I take a little trip to Busan :)

Bye-Bye