Thursday, November 1, 2012

100 Things I Love About Korea: #4 - Walking Almost Everywhere

I walk an hour a day - without even trying.  5 minutes here.  10 minutes there.  And before you know it, I've put in several miles of walking.  So far today, at lunch time, I've already walked 10 minutes to work, 5 minutes to the bus, 5 minutes to an appointment, 5 minutes back to the bus, and 5 minutes back to my office.  That's 30 minutes bonus exercise.  Nice.
One of the costs of moving back to the USA will definitely be the loss of incidental exercise and calorie burning through the natural daily walking that comes from living in Korea.  We don't own a car, and we don't want a car.  A few times a week, I use public transportation like a bus, subway, or taxi, but the rest of the time I just walk.  We walk to work, to church, to Emma's school, to the grocery store, and to most of the restaurants we frequent.
And I love it.  It's good exercise - building serotonin and burning calories - something I need more and more.  It puts me out in nature, where I can see and appreciate the weather and the seasons.  Sure, it's hot in the summer and cold in the winter, but that's life, and I get to experience more of it this way.
I'll surely enjoy the independence of hopping in a car and going wherever I want whenever I want, but just as surely, I'll miss my many, many walks around Cheonan.

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