The Here and Now

Life, it seems is made up with long stretches of waiting.
Waiting for buses.
Waiting in lines.
Waiting to exhale.
Waiting for work to be over.

Right now I am waiting for a train. I have been waiting for this train for the past 2 hours and will continue waiting for this train for another two. In the middle of my vacation I am waiting.

Train stations, much like airports are full of interesting people. But, unlike airports, the people here are much more… odd.

The homeless man sleeping on the bench in the back.
The kids playing with small cheap toys and plastic bags on the floor.

Men in suits sitting next to men in rags.

I was hit on by a very drunk older man who reeked of lunch-time Soju.

I was, yet again, chastised for the hole in my jeans by an older woman. She sat next to me and poked at my knee until I got up feigning a bathroom break.

I stepped in a puddle of fish guts just outside of the train station.
My feet still feel icky.

While listening to my ipod, I had a creepy old guy with crusty ears and a snotty nose try to steal my earphones to listen to whatever I was listening to.
This time I ran, no feigned bathroom breaks. He did not touch my headphones.


In the states I would have felt uncomfortable in a train station surrounded by the weird.
In the states I would have had my bag zipped shut and tucked underfoot.
In the states I would be a little wary about taking a nap with my computer sitting all willy-nilly next to me.

Here, here everything is different.

Here, situations are about as safe as possible. There is no fear of danger or theft. No fear about random bodily damage.
No fear at all. Maybe fear of the old crusty guy and his creepy ears touching my headphones.

I love this country.

I hate waiting.
The train is still hours away.

I think I need to do laps around the station.