So with the special edition “Debt Free” blog last time, I didn’t get a chance to tell you about all the other things going on in our life for the time being.
First, yes the many rumors are true; we did get a scooter…two in fact. The first one is a little piece of junk Daelim (Honda) 50cc Tact. It is a nice little light runaround, but I had to have some repairs done on it to make it “road worthy.” For a short, small shopping trip it is great…for anything else, at least for this hefty bro, it is a little too small. That led us to look around for another one. I found a 100cc (102.3cc to be exact) Honda Beat (aka. Lead, SCR100) model that is designed to carry two people. Still a little underpowered, but it gets the job done.
Now you might ask why a scooter. Well, it really is a great way to get around. It is a simple machine that also operates using only a twist of the wrist and a clench of the hand. A motorcycle would be more fun, but to have to deal with the many, many, many, many stops and starts here, it is simply more problem than it is worth. As for being underpowered well I have some solutions for that! Probably not for awhile yet though…and will probably have to be used.
Ok, no motorcycle, but why not a car? Let me tell you! With a scooter, you don’t wait at the traffic lights in back…with the other vehicles. You can—and I think sometimes you are expected to—go all the way to the front of the pack and charge ahead of the cars right before the light turns green. It is also a great way to explore on a budget. It costs about 7,000won (around $5) to fill the tank and that will last for about 250km on that 1.5 gallon fill up.
Here are some pics of the scooters
Second, along with these highly economical means of transportation, we also finished up our level 1 of Korean. It has opened us up so much more to the culture and language surrounding us. This does not mean that we are proficient at all, but I can understand and speak enough now to not seem like a total newbie. Still we get the “I-am-smiling-because-I-can-only-partially-understand-what-in-the-world-you-are-talking-about” looks from the Koreans…still a long way to go.
While we enjoyed our classes, I happy that we are done with the summer classes. While we were only in class 6 hours a week, the amount of time that goes into study for that time was huge! I could easily spend 10-15 hours outside of class just in independent study.
Third, with the end of the one thing, begins the next. We will be starting school within the next couple of weeks and it is about time. =) While we have enjoyed the “time off”, it will be nice to get back into the classroom with the students and fellow teachers. I can honestly say this is probably the first time in my life that I can say that I am excited about going back to work!
Charity is starting to get ready for her new position as a 4th grade teacher. I think certain aspects of her new job make her nervous, but I also think the prospect of working with the younger kids make her very excited.
Tomorrow I will be filling in for one of the teachers at our church at Moongyeong Middle school for a couple days at their Summer English Camp. I am looking forward to it!
Well, as always…
More to come…
