Standing on an express bus for forty-five minutes...

... may be worth the 15 less minutes of travel (when compared with the subway).

During a non-busy time of night, the commute from Ilsan to the over-popular Gangnam area isn't too bad; if traveling from the former to the latter. The return trip, however, yields standing-room only on the 9700 bus. Thus far, I have yet to exempt myself from dinners with friends in the crowded district. Time will reveal whether I may continue to weather the harsh conditions, which shall only worsen as warm spring weather waxes while winter cold wanes.

I commute to that area to learn Korean once or twice a week from friend Gil, who lives there. Come April, I will begin taking Korean classes 3 nights a week at Ewha Women's University (I have yet to line it up; however, they gave me the go-ahead in December, before I turned down their too-intensive-for-my-schedule program.) The placement tests were the day before I arrived in Korea. So, I await spring.

Now, I must conduct a baking class. The recipe title: "Happiness Fruits." Little sausages arranged in the center of four cookie-cut circles of thick Texas-toast bread, simmered in the oven for five minutes, then glazed with syrup and sesame seeds. Enjoy?