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| Far from home searching the globe... |
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Tuesday, April 18, 2006 The apartment building where I dwell, far out in the Korean countryside, draws its water supply from a well. When the water level in the well is low, it is difficult, if not impossible, to get water for such extravagant tasks as washing the dishes or taking a shower. It doesn't happen often, but once it caused me to miss church because I couldn't take a shower one Sunday morning in time to get dressed and catch the one bus that would get me to Seoul on time for the opening services. Last week, a petition was circulated to convert the building water supply from the well to piped water from the county. If switched, our individual monthly service fee would rise from about $10 a month to $15 a month. A small price to pay for reliable water, right? The problem is the buses. Not only do they only pass through every one or two hours on the way to and from the "city" of Gapyeong where I can catch buses and trains to bigger and better cities, they stop running altogether at 8 PM. This means I must frequently rely on taxis to get home from excursions to Seoul or Chuncheon at night or during the day when I don't want to wait an hour for the next bus home. Taxis into the country are expensive, nearly $9 from the Gapyeong bus terminal to my apartment building. With a minimum of two or three $9 taxis a week, I don't relish the thought of being forced to pay even $5 more a month if I can avoid it, even if it means going without water on occasion. I signed "No" on the petition to change to piped water. Yesterday the results of the petition came back: Yes - 46, No - 1. I lose. 4:54 AM |
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