Little Things

This morning, on my commute to school, I had one of those little differences moments. Well, it was kind of a big difference really. I usually sit/stand there with my headphones on and listen to music during my commute. There's no reason to try to hear the infrequent announcements or even listen in on a nearby conversation, because I wouldn't understand them anyhow. On the subway this morning, however, I noticed that the driver was saying quite a lot. I figured that the subway I was on was possibly going to end and I would have to get off and wait for the next train to come. This happened once before and was inconvenient but manageable. Today, however, was more complicated. When the train stopped, everyone got off and marched away. It was a station with a transfer as well, making it more difficult to tell what everyone was doing--were they just going to the other line or was something bigger going on? A couple people stayed--or were at the platform already--so I did as well. I waited for quite some time for the next train to come and while I waited I noticed that the trains arriving on the opposite platform were going in the same direction. This was very odd to me, and made me worry a little more about my ability to figure my way out of this mess. When the next train finally did come it came from the wrong direction! This was really frustrating, so I started looking around for signs and noticed that there were signs for the #2 line (my line) all over the place. Except at this station there were arrows to the 2.1 line and 2.2 line! I was totally confused and not sure what to do. I finally just chose one of the directions and walked, knowing only that standing on the platform I was on would get me nowhere. I totally lucked out and made it to a platform that looked more familiar and had signs I could decipher.

It was ultimately only a 15 minute delay for me, but was totally confusing. It reminded me that, although I'm good at getting to and from school (I can march around with that air of superiority that comes with not needing to look at the signs), it only takes a small hiccup to remind me that I can get out of my element very fast here. And again it reminded me how difficult the language thing can get. I guess the ultimate lesson I should take away is that these little annoyances are ultimately just that--little annoyances--and make the experience all the more...memorable. In some way, now that I've got a little distance from the moment, I guess it is one of the many little things that are ultimately (at least on average) fun about living in a strange place. I just wish I could have that same kind of perspective about my Accounting class.