Unintentional Exploration
Yesterday the kids and I set out on an adventure. We had a place in mind that we wanted to go. We had directions for said place. These directions seemed fairly simple, so even though I had never been to this spot before I figured we had a good chance of finding it. You can guess where this is going.
It's difficult for me to drive here because there are a LOT of strobe lights on the roads, and even though my medications have been working for the past 8 years, I'd rather not tempt fate and risk a seizure while driving. So most of the time we use public transportation, which I actually really like. No worries about where to park! No trying to figure out if the lane I'm in ends before I need to turn! No being terrified that I'll hit/be hit by another driver! So for this outing, like most of our outings, we took a bus from the post to the main bus/train station and then hopped on the subway.
It wasn't a terribly long ride, but they were able to get some geography done. The folks sitting next to them looked quite amused, and as often happens they told me how cute the kids are.
After we left the subway station we still needed to take a bus back to post. This normally isn't a huge ordeal, just head to the bus stop, wait a couple of minutes, and then cross your fingers that you'll get a seat because it's not terribly uncommon to end up standing on the bus. But last night was an experience unlike any we had had before. This bus was packed. Like, PACKED packed. So full that there were people standing on the steps and touching the door in the front. It was nuts. I tried to get a picture, but I couldn't get even close to doing justice to the madness of that bus.
Lillie was mugging a little bit for the camera. She wasn't really that upset. Aiden and I were approaching it as we do so many things here - just another crazy Korean adventure! Something we've never done before! But poor Reagan, my poor little monkey, was totally overwhelmed. She has a hard time with chaos and loud noises, and by the time we got off the bus she was literally in tears. She didn't have a handle or a pole to hold onto, so she was just clinging to me for dear life. And those of you who have been on Korean buses know that's not really an exaggeration. Those drivers are bonkers!
It was about 6:45 when we got home, and David was able to come pick us up at the main gate. The girls and I headed home to decompress while the menfolk headed to church for youth activities - I'm not sure that helped their mental state, considering David was totally exhausted from his day as well.
All in all it was, as I said earlier, just another crazy Korean adventure. We saw things we wouldn't have seen otherwise, did things we wouldn't have done, even learned some new words in Korean while buying some handmade crafts. No regrets here at all.
It's difficult for me to drive here because there are a LOT of strobe lights on the roads, and even though my medications have been working for the past 8 years, I'd rather not tempt fate and risk a seizure while driving. So most of the time we use public transportation, which I actually really like. No worries about where to park! No trying to figure out if the lane I'm in ends before I need to turn! No being terrified that I'll hit/be hit by another driver! So for this outing, like most of our outings, we took a bus from the post to the main bus/train station and then hopped on the subway.
On this adventure, although we never did reach our intended destination, we did find some really cool artwork. I've always loved The Little Prince, so it was such a fun surprise to find this random artwork on an alleyway wall.
We stopped at a Tous Les Jours, a bakery chain, for some treats before heading home and I had to get a shot of some of their cakes. This one looks super cute and yummy.
I mean, look at that winky bear! So adorable!
The next one needs some explanation. I've seen a trend in Korean cakes. They like to top their cakes with fruit. It usually looks beautiful and tasty, and I fully approve. This particular cake looked like it had added some sort of glaze over the fruit topping.
You can see strawberry, kiwi, grape, orange, and on the right there, on the very edge ... Guys. Guys, that's a cherry tomato.
Just. No.
After taking some time to recover from the horror of that cake we headed back home. Since it was a school day, and in fact "Out and About Day" during International Homeschool Spirit Week, I had come prepared with schoolwork for the monkeys to do to keep themselves occupied on the subway.
After we left the subway station we still needed to take a bus back to post. This normally isn't a huge ordeal, just head to the bus stop, wait a couple of minutes, and then cross your fingers that you'll get a seat because it's not terribly uncommon to end up standing on the bus. But last night was an experience unlike any we had had before. This bus was packed. Like, PACKED packed. So full that there were people standing on the steps and touching the door in the front. It was nuts. I tried to get a picture, but I couldn't get even close to doing justice to the madness of that bus.
Lillie was mugging a little bit for the camera. She wasn't really that upset. Aiden and I were approaching it as we do so many things here - just another crazy Korean adventure! Something we've never done before! But poor Reagan, my poor little monkey, was totally overwhelmed. She has a hard time with chaos and loud noises, and by the time we got off the bus she was literally in tears. She didn't have a handle or a pole to hold onto, so she was just clinging to me for dear life. And those of you who have been on Korean buses know that's not really an exaggeration. Those drivers are bonkers!
It was about 6:45 when we got home, and David was able to come pick us up at the main gate. The girls and I headed home to decompress while the menfolk headed to church for youth activities - I'm not sure that helped their mental state, considering David was totally exhausted from his day as well.
All in all it was, as I said earlier, just another crazy Korean adventure. We saw things we wouldn't have seen otherwise, did things we wouldn't have done, even learned some new words in Korean while buying some handmade crafts. No regrets here at all.
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