Two weeks ago when I told my co-teachers that I bought a scooter, they were so excited for me. All I heard was "you have your wings", and "it must be nice to feel so free". Every day they'd ask me if I rode it to school and the conversation would go like this:
"Did you ride your scooter into school today?"
"No, I'm not ready to ride in traffic yet"
"Really? Its so easy!"
"Yeah, I know, I'm just not used to driving something like that yet"
Different variations of this occurred for the past two weeks. Before I got the scooter, I was toying with the idea of getting a motor bike instead. I heard (from my teachers) that a bike is much more dangerous than a scooter.
Flash forward to today. I braved the downtown traffic and successfully rode my scooter up the hill to school. As I'm walking up the final part of the hill carrying my helmet, I run into a few teachers who say "You have motor bike?!?! That's so dangerous!". When I walked into the teacher's office and set my helmet on the desk, Mrs. Lee informs me that the Vice Principal doesn't like that I have a scooter and that she had to convince him that I would be careful. My first thought was "Wow, that's nice. They're concerned about my safety." Then I realized...they don't want anything to happen to their investment. After all, private-public schools are a business.
Korean traffic definitely takes some getting used to. Its a lot of "survival of the fastest" and "my terms". Red lights are for the most part just a suggestion. Yielding? Absolutely not. The only time someone will ever yield to you is if you completely prevent them from going. Even then, they slowly roll forward as you make your move and give you a beep of the horn or two. The main thing I've learned is to act like I'm in charge and that my horn is my friend.
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