Beijing Subway

Last Friday I was on my way to some friends' goodbye party, getting off at one station to meet A, and then continuing on to our destination together. Guomao, our meetup point, is arguably the busiest station in the entire Beijing subway system and at 6 pm on a Friday night it's mass chaos. I had already ridden two different lines for an hour to get there and had been pushed to the center of the train - butt to butt and belly to belly with my fellow subway sardines. I usually get offered a seat cause of the baby but in this crowd there was no way. 

Guomao station was coming and after asking around I knew that everyone between me and the door was also getting off. I was the last person in the crowd trying to de-board the train and had my purse, belly, and reusable shopping bag full of fruit salsa and cinnamon chips all in tow. The doors open, middle of rush hour, the crowd is squeezing out of the train like it's a birth canal, and I'm on the very tail end. I get to the doors but not in time to beat the herd of black hair chomping at the bit to board the train. The crowd engulfs me, surrounds me on every side, rips the shopping bag clean off of my arm, all I was left with was the straps, and I was pushed back on to the train. I was forced back to the center, reached through the crowd past 4 people and pulled my bag out of the shoulders it was smushed between - they didn't even notice it was there. I was yelling, my tupperware had been broken open, and the bag was dripping with fruit juice. I sifted it through the people down to my knees and as it was dripping juice on to my foot I looked up at the door - and there was A. He had been on the platform waiting for me and just happened to be at the exact door where I had attempted to get off the train. He saw me get pushed back on and jumped on at the last second. 

My mix of emotions was overwhelming. Anger at all the people around me, frustration at the lack of awareness in these crowds - so much that they didn't even notice they had bowled me over or broke my bag, relief at seeing A, and ticked at my fruit being spilled. It wasn't until after we left the next station that I burst in to tears, it all just really put me over the edge. So that's all. Just thought I should share the latest moment when I thought, "What the hell are we doing here?"

We're happy, healthy, and doing so well, but sometimes this crazy city reminds me how much we need each other, our dear friends here, and a good strong shoulder to push through the crowds. :)