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The Downside of Public Trasportation
Entry 74 of 90 | show all | print this entry |
As most of you already know, one of the biggest adjustments we have had to make while living here is not having a car. Fortunately, the public transportation system is very extensive and easily accessible here. Every city has a central train station along with buses and trams to take you wherever you need to go. And in the event that we don't feel like using public transportation, we have bikes (well, until Nate's got stolen that is, now we just share one)!
Anyway, Andrea has relied on the train and tram to get her to and from the twins house everyday during the week. It is typically rather crowded during the morning and evening rush hour, but she usually lucks out at finding a seat, and if not, she stands (it is only a 15 min ride). Overall, Andrea has been pleased with the public transportation system and never once has had a bad experience... until TODAY!!!
On her way home from the twins, the train was quite crowded and she was not lucky in finding a seat in one of the cabins. She was about to go stand in the doorway when she noticed that there was a "mini seat" open between the doorway and cabin. Technically, there is seating for 4 people in this area, but because it is not in the main cabin, the space is much smaller and usually just 1 or 2 people sit there. Andrea was happy to have a seat, so she grabbed it,sat down, and started to read her book. Right as the train started to speed away on the tracks, a VERY SCARY looking man came and sat right across from her (think old, dirty, and smelly). Andrea thought about getting up and moving to the doorway, but then she realized that he was probably harmless. He was not looking at her and all he was doing was focusing on drinking a small carton of "Milk & Fruit" (a very common Dutch drink... think liquid yogurt).
So, everything was going great, and at the halfway point to Leiden Andrea even commented to herself "See, everything is FINE. There is no reason to be judgmental. You made the right decision in keeping your seat". LITERALLY 30 seconds later, the man leaned over in his seat, opened his mouth, and proceeded to projectile vomit all over the ground and himself!!! Andrea was in SHOCK, they were mere INCHES apart! Her first instinct was actually to help the man, see if he was okay, or if he needed help getting to the bathroom... THEN, the overwhelming stench of alcohol (and Milk & Fruit) hit her nose and she realized that there was nothing she could do to help an alcoholic and if she didn't move fast, she was going to vomit herself. She immediately grabbed her belongings (miraculously they stayed dry) and hopped her way into the doorway. She spent the rest of the ride counting down the minutes and seconds until the train would stop and she could finally get off. The "vomit man" spent the rest of the ride puking his brains out, and then, just as the train was about to stop, he picked up his head and CHUGGED the rest of his Milk & Fruit drink and then walked away. GROSSS!!
Andrea had never seen anything like it! Just 2 more months until we are home!! Oh, how we cannot wait to have a car again!!!
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