the Russian Metro

Yesterday Jonathan and I got on the metro for the first time in ages. Over the winter we drove most of the time and lately we've walked everywhere, but yesterday, given terrible traffic and the distance we needed to cover, the metro once more looked to be the most efficient means of transport. However, we forgot about rush hour and arrived at the doors at 6:30 PM, the time when you unfortunately must take part in impressive levels of human compression. Allow me to explain.

Rush hour on the metro is a fascinating display of pushing and shoving. Our metro stop has 5 entry doors but for some reason 3 of them are locked all the time, even at rush hour, so everyone has to go through just two doors. And since Russians cannot handle the concept of waiting in line, they approach these doors from a full 180 degree radius, each trying to cut everyone else off. Consequently, outside the doors you have a gigantic half-sphere glob of human, where, from the moment someone joins the mob behind you, you are being crushed forward from all sides until you pop through the door like a cork. It's as if there's a fire outside and everyone's trying to get in, but the panic level is just low enough that no one dies.

Adding to the fun is the fact that yesterday it was 80 degrees, humid, and the sun was blaring with no shade, so the "line" became a teeming mass of sweaty bodies.

Thankfully, despite appearances from the outside, which would lead you to believe that inside the line is backed up to the door, as soon as you get through the door there's plenty of room to breathe, go to the ticket counter, go through a turn style, even find a place to stand and wait for a friend if needed. It's the most asinine thing I've ever seen. Especially because, what's the rush? There's a train every 3 minutes, minimum. Besides, because the shoving brings the mob to a near-standstill, it ends up taking about 8 minutes to get through the door. So no one's saving any time.

I think the biggest testament to the insanity is the fact that I've lived here for almost one year now, and it still makes my jaw drop after all this time. I hope I still remember how to be civilized after our second year here...