transportation

Do you know that besides the school bus when going to school in the states I have never taken public transportation in the states?  I'm racking my brain trying to think if that is right and I really have to say I think it is.  Now I've ridden on shuttles like sometimes they have in airports and such but as far as waiting for the bus, never.  I don't even think I'd know how!  Ok, I know how but I mean where the nearest busstop is to my house and which bus to take and things like that.  I can't even tell you how much the bus costs in Indianapolis.  I have a car and drive everywhere back in the states.  Here however the bus is all I take and I can more or less tell you the price of a ticket to certain places.  I have ridden in a train a couple times before and have only a few times here also.  Back in the states I have never taken a taxi but now taking a taxi is an option.    Public transportation is more eco-friendly.  Here I can live without a car...even if I could drive here.  Public transportation is more of an option here, more available.  Every town, village, and city has at least a bus stop (I'm pretty sure that's right but could be wrong since I haven't asked but every place I've been to or through has had one.)   Now sometimes, this happens more on smaller microbuses, you have to stand because there are no more seats or, as happened a few Saturdays ago when I was traveling, you have to "make" seats, sit in the back, or get a little creative and cozy.  The buses and trains, or course, run on a schedule during the week.  The schedule changes on the weekends and, in my opinion, it's harder to rely on public transportation.  So during the weekends when people want to travel it's harder.  But since I've never ridden public transportation in the states, maybe it's harder on the weekends there too!  Traveling here more than 2-3 hours away from home is kind of a luxary; it's expensive and since most people don't have cars they have to rely on the buses or trains.  Vacations here are taken at the Black Sea.  Just today I had some students tell me they want to go to the Black Sea with me this summer.  Or vacations are spent with parents in other countries.  I have a student who has a father in Germany and a mother in Turkey and when I asked her what she will do this summer she said she will spend time with her parents.  Boy, I can't imagine!  Now I'm a child of divorce but at least my parents lived within 30 minutes of each other (until High School) and I lived with one of them while growing up!  This has kind of been a hodge-podge blog today.  Sadly, the recent storm in Indianapolis took part of my willow tree with it, but everyone is ok thankfully.  However, that's nothing compared to what has been happening in the South!  My thoughts and prayers continue to be in Arizona and where all the flooding has been!!  Love and hugs and thanks for the package Kerrs!!