I never thought I would learn so much from commuting by underground. My curious nature has always taken me to explore cultures, architecture and above all, behaviour.
This time was different, I was not just a tourist in a foreign city. I was here to work. So, no matter in how many cities I have taken the underground, no matter how well read I may be about the countries I haven’t yet visited, deciding to go to work by underground in Santiago de Chile was an absolutely revealing experience.
I come from a big city myself, crowded we feel it is. I have lived in London, I have taken the underground in Tokyo, in other words, I have experienced the rush hour and annoying cramming -or that is what I thought. I came to Santiago to work, and to work in a field where punctuality is crucial. Being late is absolutely out of the question. So I learnt the Chilean way.
Taking the metro at peak hours is a nightmare, which can gradually become a slightly disturbing dream. If you adapt, that is. Even before visiting Tokyo, I had known about underground guards pushing people inside the trains. I had no idea that the same system is applied here in Santiago. What differs though, is the way people react.
From my experience on British soil, I learnt to leave home well in advance. We can never be sure whether the 8:17 train to Dorking will be on time. Here in Santiago I took that word of wisdom. On my first day I did not manage to get into the first train that arrived at the platform. Or rather, as I discovered later, I thought I was not fit to get into that first train. By my Argentinean standards, the coach was already packed, and it would be virtually impossible to get in. How naive I was. I got on the second, partly on my own will and partly not to dissatisfy the will of others who were pushing me inside the car. I could hardly move.
And then it happened, two stations ahead hordes of people made their way into the very same coach I was travelling in. How could they? It was already inhumanly full. It was then that I learnt about physics and biology; 70% of our bodies is made of water and that is exactly what we were. A huge wobble that moved in, expanding itself sideways and then contracting itself again. More than 15 people got in. I counted them. I could hardly breathe.
On my next morning I got in on the first train that got to the platform. I travelled in a manner my dear mum would have never allowed me to. That was my second lesson. Our own limits depend more on our upbringing and culture than on our capabilities. This time, the wobble that expanded was not a mass of human beings, but my own limits. I realized how my own background and life experience had taught me to believe a train is full. To not risk getting in and let alone to travel on the very edge of the door. I had often felt that it was bold to do that. I felt bold.
My third lesson has to do with understanding cultures. On the one hand, I find Chileans indifferent to others, especially on the underground. They get in and stand right in front of the door, blocking it, no matter when they will get off. They are reluctant to move and it takes more than one ‘excuse me ‘ for them to make way. I definitely thought them rude. Then I witnessed something unexpected. There’s a tendency to minimize the embarrassingly uncomfortable situation of travelling like packed sardines. Someone may ask for room and people make jokes about it, and most passengers will kindly laugh. At home, we may be a bit more civil, but I’ve never seen this kind of joyful complicity. That bewildered me. How easy it was to make a first impression and label them as cold and selfish and then seeing how relaxed and connected they can be.
There’s a fourth thing I learnt. Rights. Although the coaches are packed, people know they have the right to get off at their own stop. And they will stand for it. The train will not leave until all the passengers who needed to get off do so, even if that means that many have to leave the coach to make way. Again, those who are indifferent at first become solidary later on. At home, in a similar situation, you have already missed your stop. I am grateful to have had this opportunity to mingle with a different society. It has taught me a lot; I learnt about them and above all, i learnt about myself.
