Tiffany Takes a Tumble

Sept. 22, 2005 -Tiffany
Rush hour on the Shanghai subway is not what you would call pleasant, as it seems the entire city attempts to cram itself onto the 2 lines that serve the entire city. People are packed into subway cars like sardines, and to successfully get on and off, you need to be aggressive. I found out just how much you have to stand your ground yesterday. At one of the stops that did not happen to be mine, the crowd pushed me toward the door. In the midst of trying to brace myself and stay on the train, my heel got caught in the gap and I literally fell out of the car onto the ground face first. When I looked up, I was surrounded by a sea of Chinese people half my size asking me what I assume was ‘are you ok’ in Mandarin (but what could have easily been ‘stupid tall American girl, why are you on the ground?’). I managed to brush off my knees and dignity fast enough to push myself back onto the train before it left, but I did leave a group of shocked commuters still staring at me from the platform. So now I know, when you’re on the Shanghai subway and it’s not your stop, grab on to the pole for dear life and don’t get near the door!