The T, in all its glory

I fully expected that riding the T to work would be an experience unlike any I'd ever dealt with on a daily basis. Well, I was right. 

There are some aspects of my daily commute that have surprised me somewhat. I've noticed that, luckily, few people who ride the T are coughing and hacking and sniffling. You would think that with the sheer volume of people, there would be at least one or two in each car who would happily pass along their cold. Or perhaps it is exactly because of the sheer volume of people that no one has a cold. The astronomical level of germ exposure has rendered everyone simply immune. I'm happy that it's winter and I don't look like a weirdo if I just keep my gloves on...

Next, I found that the commute is quiet. Bizarrely so. Aside from the creaking of the cars and whroooshing along the tracks, there isn't a sound. No one talks, not to each other, not on their cell phones, not to themselves (well...there are exceptions) But I guess the silence makes sense. I mean, I'm so used to being at school where everyone travels in packs. No one commutes in a pack. That's not how it's done. And we're in New England, so clearly no one would dream of starting up a conversation with the person standing 4 inches from them. Thus, silence. It's good for reading, and much better than uncomfortable small talk with strangers.

I have also had some striking coincidences while riding the T recently. This afternoon, I looked up, and across from me there was a girl wearing my exact glasses frames. I have had this pair for 3 years and never seen them anywhere else. Aside from her being blonde, blue eyed, and generally rather more delicate than myself, it was like looking in a mirror. Well, ok so not really, but still.

Stranger than that though, a couple weeks ago I saw this guy getting off the train and knew that I knew him. It wasn't one of those, oh hey, that guy looks an awful lot like someone I know, maybe it's him, it was more like, holy crap! I know that guy! It was a guy I had worked with in San Remo this summer. Yes that's a big stretch, but the kicker is he's British. As in from Britain. Which is far away. Well, I thought it was cool. Anyhoo, I didn't get to talk to him on the T (cause it was so damn crowded), but I did send him an email when I got home. And I was right, it was him, he was in town for the week, but was leaving the next day, so we didn't get to meet up anyway. 

Small world, united by public transport. It's been an interesting ride, and I'm sure that isn't about to change.