2012-02-28 A Russian Commuter
Not my first serious commute. I have done the Greenwich to Manhattan commute for a three month stint before. This… is different.
- Cheaper. Costs a dollar to take the tram two stops and the metro 12 stops from home to university.
- Longer. No express trains means it takes me a minimum of an hour and ten minutes to complete the journey.
- More crowded. The 14th busiest metro in the world… with only 5 lines, just under 60 stations in total and the second deepest in the world leads to absolute mayhem in the few stations and fewer trains.
I was delayed twenty minutes this morning, effectively making me late for class, due to metro rush hour issues. The trains were so crowded it was impossible for new passengers to board. It makes me rather unhappy to start the day with such a messy, congested, smelly, lengthy commute. However my friend Angela surprised me with breakfast, so I felt loads better in class.
The family is pleasant enough and I cannot complain. My room is large, bed comfortable, cat friendly, guitar broken and dinner superb. It is nice to finally be eating fully cooked real meals, without the struggle of doing it in the dormitory.