Riding the WMATA, I suddenly realized I was now fully used to seeing so many 'foreigners' around me.
I thought about what it would be like if everyone besides me was full Chinese. It would be strange. There would be stares. Probably at least 2x-3x more people. Smells.
When I rode the subway in Beijing, and to a lesser extent Shanghai, I wore headphones and searched for empty space to stare into. I needed a certain kind of background music for those long rides. Cold Play and Radio Head and alternative rock.
There wasn't enough room to sit, much less get out a book and read. Yesterday I looked over the shoulder of a WMATA commuter and read his kindle secretly. Not as many PSPs in Washington. One thing I still like to do is ride the subway "hands free". I plant my feet in a kung-fu stance, and tighten my stomach muscles. If I concentrate, I can usually easily stay stable. I let myself imagine, sometimes, that I am one of the few who can do this. Sometimes, I fall into someone and grab them to keep from busting my ass. Then I apologize and look to grasp a handrail.
The conversations were more Washingtonian on the WMATA, while in Shanghai they were about money, and in Beijing they were about the Great Wall. That was a joke, they don't talk about the Great Wall while riding the subway in Beijing. Unless they are tourists. The big difference was, in China, if I wasn't melting into my subway itunes playlist, I was leaning my ear to conversations, trying to discern what they were gossiping about. In Washington, I don't try and eavesdrop on chatter, instead it becomes an effort to tune it out.
The subway in Japan is a different creature altogether. The masses are more orderly than China, but are still masses compared to Washington. Almost no one talks to each other, like well dressed mute babushkas. The outdoor subways are travel amongst beautiful backdrops. I always want to buy a drink or snack when transferring, because I imagine that snacks and drinks taste better in Japan. In reality, they sometimes do taste better, and they sometimes don't. They are always more expensive.
The New York subway is a lot like New York City: powerful, dirty, entertaining just to be in, and a little crazy. It's a very exhausting thing, mostly.
Subways are nice. But I like to drive in my car.
