Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Stairmaster, Buns of Steel, and Transfer Stations

After having a 1-hour commute to and from work the last two years and paying more for gas than we did for food, saying good-bye to our cars was not a sorrowful parting. In fact, we felt a bit giddy to have the opportunity to embrace mass transportation. Yesterday, Michael and I learned to use the subway. We forced this upon ourselves for two reasons: 1. taxis are frightening and dangerous. This is one of those countries where people truly drive like maniacs. 2. we don't know our address and cannot tell our taxi driver where we live should he get lost (like he did the other night). Our school shells out big bucks for us to take taxis to and from work, but we discovered yesterday that we could take the subway, not get lost, and only pay $1.25 each way.

The subway is cool for many reasons, but one reason it's cool is because you climb about a million stairs to get here and there. Actually, it is not so much cool as completely exhausting. Some trains are about six flights of stairs underneath the street. If the subway stairs don't whip me into shape, I don't know what will.

The other foreign teachers at our school seem to fit into the same class of people who tend to work in restaurants: they are lost, at a transition point in life (a transfer station, if you will), or determined to wander through life with no real direction. They are intelligent, and quite arrogant in things Korean, but they are still obviously lonely and directionless. Michael thought today that perhaps God has us here (at least in part) to minister to the foreign teachers who have found themselves in Korea. We shall see.

Until then, Suzanne Somers can watch me from behind as I get buns of steel for way cheaper at the subway stations.

5 comments:

Megan said...

Wow, great money, great experience and great exercise! We should all move to Korea!!
And I thought I was brave to get in a taxi in San Diego - you guys are really brave!

anyway, we love and miss you!!

Stacy said...

You go for it, girl! What a crazy thing! I think I would feel a little weird being that far below the ground, but the stair-master exercises might make it worth it! What a hoot! Its so good to hear from you!

Bill Schaarschmidt said...

Hey you guys!! We may have to put all that climbing to good use by taking you guys up some big peak around here next summer! Blessings on you! Sounds like it's the adventure we all thought it would be but God is giving you lots of grace along the way....as we knew He would! Praying that you guys will be a blessing to many others around you!

Anonymous said...

I love it. It is really fun to read your blogs, I feel like I can picture you two walking through live in South Korea. And I am so excited to see how the Lord is going to use you guys. Miss you!

Anonymous said...

I can't figure out how to edit. But I meant, walking through life. Anyway...