Transportation

One of the shocking things that I have faced since I came to Oregon was transportation. In Japan, we use public transportation all the time. When Garfy and I were in Japan, we took trains and buses to go everywhere.

If you are interested in reading our trip to Japan, here are the links for you!

(Tokyo, Tokyo Disney World, Nagano, Nara, Osaka, Kyoto 1, Kyoto 2, Japan)

I will never recommend you to compare transportation in Tokyo and in ... Oregon. It's just so inconvenient! I have to have a car to survive here in Oregon. However, there are always pros and cons about everything, so I am getting used to this.

Bus (city bus)
Capital city of Oregon, Salem, has public buses for everyone. The buses only run from only Monday through Friday. Weekend = no bus. Holidays = no bus. The bus which I take daily comes ONLY 5 times per day. If I miss a bus, I have to wait at least 1 hour to get another one. If I miss the last bus at 5:30pm, I have to wait... till the next day. Oh how sad. I have never experienced this situation before in my life. People's attitudes towards bus are very negative. A LOT of people say "only 'weirds' use bus." :(
Train
It's also very inconvenient (location and time -wise). Trains don't come every 5 minutes; they come every couple hours and we have to book the ticket through the website. However, I think it's really comfortable. (comfortable chair & enough space for everyone) If you are a Japanese or have been to Japan, you can imagine the inside of the trains... something like American style bullet trains. The stations are usually very pretty buildings. The train has a dining place where we can buy foods, drinks, and snacks. If I have to use trains to commute on the daily base, I will be not happy about it.

How do people transport?

Car!

People in Oregon use their cars all the time. Even within a walking distance, people use their cars. Oh, how rich. haha The people who have cars and who I met in Oregon HATE taking public transportation. It's interesting. We do have and use cars in Tokyo, but we also use public transportation.

Bicycle!! Walk!!

(especially when it's not raining)

The weather in Oregon is just so beautiful. Oregonians love sunshine! They appreciate how great weather it is outside and always talk about the weather. I had never appreciate the weather like Oregonians do when I was in Japan. Their life-style definitely helped me to realize what I couldn't pay attention to. It may sound so silly and boring to you. However, I noticed how boring my life was because I was seeing the world without paying attention to what we have already. My life has become more relaxed and peaceful. hehe

Since I don't have a car, I have to use the city bus, walk, or get a ride everywhere I go. It's a bit inconvenient for me as an international student since I want to travel around, shop, and hang out with my friends all the time. On the other hand, it's good for me because I can save some money and always have to walk (= a bit of working out?) haha

What is the transportation like in your city/country?

What do you use the most?

What was your experience with the transportation in a different place?

Talk to you soon!
smile

:)

Find out your Marriage Date

Since I write about the relationship as well, I thought it was an interesting article to share with you guys. This post is not about MY wedding date. I am not engaged or anything near that. haha
Before I say another word, here is a question for you.

Have you thought about marriage?

I have once.. well, more than once.. thought about "when am I going to get married?" I remember my friend telling me that her dream is to be a wonderful wife of a prince when she turns to 26. I am sure some of you have dreamed about being "princess" or "prince" of the most special person in the world in your life. or... some of you have heard somebody saying stuff like that.
Although I have talked with my best friend about by which age we will get married, I wasn't really interested in marrying someone. I didn't care about marriage as much as my friends did. I have always wanted to be a career woman! Work like crazy! I have dreamed about coming home and sleep immediately. I have a time for only friends and work!! BUT as I get older, people started talking about marriage around me. I went to some weddings. A lot of my friends on facebook are married now. Oh, I can feel how old I am really now. "Marriage" became more realistic with me.

Then, I saw this article on facebook. For my curiosity, I tried it. I would never thought I would click a link like this. It's almost scary how much others can influence me. Don't you agree? haha

It's a great app because...

• The app doesn't post the result on my facebook page
• I can decide whether I want to keep the result to myself only (or share with people)
• It takes a second to get the result
• It's fun

It's very simple.

1. Go to the website
2. Read the article (option)
3. Click NEXT under "Is it time I got married?"
4. link to your facebook
5. get the result

Here is a link to the page

Click and Jump to TIME Techland

I am not sure how accurate the result is.

But

just for fun..

aren't you curious to see your marriage date?

smile!

:)