Healthy City Living

In Virginia, we lived in the suburbs. There were no sidewalks on the big street by our house and we had to drive to all the stores. Here in Korea, we live in a big city and don't have a car. I ride my bike to work, but the rest of the time, we get around by foot or public transportation. Most of the places we go are about 15 minutes away - Korean class, Mega Mart, the public bath, the sea-side.

Yesterday, I wanted to look for some outdoor clothing shops. We walked about 20 minutes to the area around the university and ate lunch at an Indian restaurant. The food was tasty and we noticed a yoga studio across the street. Rie will check that out next week. From there, we took a 25 minute subway ride to one of the big shopping districts in Busan. We walked for a few hours, but I did not find any jackets that I liked. After taking a train most of the way home, we walked a bit more and found a movie theater near the university. We ate dinner at a Japanese noodle (ramen) place before heading home. The ramen was not that great, but at least it was loaded with yummy garlic.

I think that one of the reasons I have been slowly losing weight since we got here is all of the walking we do. And, it is not always easy sidewalk strolling. At most of the major roads, we have to take an overpass or an underpass to get across.

This is the biggest city Rie or I have ever lived in. We are getting used to big city life and taking the time to explore our new home, but I will look for a car next week. We don't plan to use it in the city, but in the Spring, I would really like to explore the peninsula and do some hiking in the big national parks.