I am writing this blog on the train, and I notice that more than half of the people riding have headphones in their ears.  I understand the affect that music can have on a person.  Its one of those things in life that can make your day so much better, and all you have to do is press play on your ipod.  Though this is true, I believe the expression "dance like nobody is watching" should not be applicable while riding the subway.

I was once on the A train on my way to school when I noticed a young man utilizing this expression.  He wore jeans that revealed half of his boxers, a white beater, and a black du-rag.  He stood by the door at the far end, with his headphones in ear and his t-shirt resting on his shoulder.  He stared at his reflection of the windows of the door, singing to Usher's "I wanna make love in this club", while dancing as if he was performing it in concert.  He would lift his arms, opening and closing his hands just as an R&B singer would.  Though his singing ability was not up to par as the average singer, I found it extremely entertaining and was actually disappointed when he exited on the 125th street station.

In order to get home, I have to take the E train towards Jamaica Center in Queens.  Many commuters take this train in this direction to get to JFK, therefore it is common to see passengers with luggage.  I once was on my way home and I encountered a family of four who was speaking a language that was foreign to me.  It was safe to assume that they were tourists on their way to the airport, since they were carrying luggage and taking pictures of trains riding parallel as the one we were on.  Intrigued,  I made sure to stand relatively close to them to try to figure out what language they were speaking and where they were going.  I noticed tied to their luggage was a paper that said Iberia Airways.  I was going to google the airline once I left the train, but to my luck I didn't have to since the mother noticed my curiosity and engaged in conversation.  To my surprise she spoke English like a true American, with no accent whatsoever.  She told me that they were speaking French, and they were taking a flight that day back to France.  I left the train feeling enlightened, feeling that there was more to life than New York City even though it may not feel that way sometimes.  I also feel that when they arrive back home, they will always remember the young New Yorker they encountered on the train.

According to ysop.org, each year there are about 100,000 New Yorkers that experience homelessness.  When I first read that statistic, I was shocked, but then as I contemplated on how many homeless people I see each day riding our trains, this number made a bit more sense to me.  My commute from home to CCNY is about an hour, therefore I spend two hours each day on a train.  In those two hours, I usually encounter about three or four homeless people begging for money.  I was taught not to give money to those who asked for it, because there is always that possibility that they would use it to fuel an addiction.  Though many times I am not willing to offer cash, I am always willing to offer any extra food that I may have.  

I am aware that one homeless man chooses to sit on a crate in the Woodhaven Blvd. subway station.  He has a cardboard sign that sits between his feet, but I never take the time to read what it says.  One day though, I had an extra slice of pizza and offered it to this man.  I knew he would be hungry but how quickly he had taken it surprised me for some reason.  It seemed like with a blink of an eye, the slice had disappeared from my hands.  That split second of my life really made me appreciate all the little things that I am blessed with.  

Oodle Noodle

People have been blessing our city trains with performances of all kinds since the beginning of its existence.  From my experience, I have witnessed instruments being played, dances being performed, and even magicians practicing their craft.  If you have ridden our trains at least once, you probably have seen one of these performances.  Personally, I am always looking forward to these routines, because the talent riding among us can be  astonishing.  Though this is normally the case, you may still come across a performance that is not so impressive.   

This is a tale of a dance routine gone wrong.  I was coming home from class on the E train in Queens, when a young man, who could not have been older than twenty, entered into the car from one of the emergency exits singing the chorus from "I believe I can fly" by R. Kelly.  His confidence in his voice reminded me of a bad American Idol audition from a person who was told all his or her life that he or she can sing.  Luckily for his audience, that was not where his performance ended.  He exclaimed to us that his friends refer to him as "Oodle Noodle", and that we would see the reason why when his dance began. He took out his phone and played the song "Dance" by Big Sean, and began clapping his hands.  His body did move in interesting ways, almost like a snake, but didn't do anything more.  He attempted to flip his hat from his foot to catch it, but it ended up in the lap of the person next to me.  He then offered to do flips for each dollar he got, but at that point most of the train was not interested and didn't offer him any.  An awkward silence rose within him, as he just stood waiting for the train doors to open to get off at the next stop.  I have seen many performances in my experiences in the subway, but this one I can honestly label as being the worst one.   

Due to my love for sleep, I set up my class schedule to allow me to be able to wake up late, and avoid the rush of New Yorkers in the morning.  Another advantage of my schedule is that I am able to avoid the craziness of the trains when high school and middle school students flood our subway system once they are let out of school.  Riding uptown between 2 o'clock and 3 is usually not a fun sight to see in my experience.  During this instance, though I avoided the hour of insanity, I still was presented with a couple minutes of immaturity.

I was riding on the downtown D train on my way home from class, when a group of young people entered the train on the 125th street station. From the looks of it, none of these boys were over the age of 16 or 17.  I noticed one was holding a radio, so I constructed the idea that I would be entertained with a dance number during this long stop to Columbus Circle.  To my surprise, once the train began moving i was presented with another form of entertainment.   

The music on my ipod began to be overwhelmed with the sounds of fierce arguing.  Normally I am one to mind my own business, but I paused the song I was listening to, to hear what all the fuss was about.  Two of the young people, who had seemed to be friends coming into the train, were yelling at each other back and forth.  I wish I could say what they were arguing about, but the meaning behind their words were drowned out by their constant use of the n-word and other curses.  Then in one moment, a fist landed on the other's face, which spiraled into an all out brawl between the two.  They wrestled to the ground, throwing punches at each other's ribs and heads as if they were in their own boxing ring.  Another member of their group moved to try to separate them, but two others grabbed him as one kept repeating, "Let them fight it out... Let them fight it out."

As they were fighting, my short attention span directed me to notice the reactions on people's faces as they watched the brawl.  This is what I found most interesting, since there was mixed reactions throughout the audience.  A young woman's face who was sitting right in front of the action was completely shocked.  Her hand covered her mouth as she sat in fear of what was happening.  A middle aged man sitting next to her looked in utter disappointment.  He watched shaking his head constantly, and I can only imagine what his perception is on today's youth.  There were few people who seemed to enjoy the view.  They laughed and some even took pictures and videos on their phone.  Personally, I watched and knew not what to think.  I just continued to sit, hoping that my face would end up in the background of a youtube video. 

When my professor asked my class to create a blog, I saw the excitement in many of my fellow classmates' faces.  Me, on the other hand, felt indifferent towards this assignment.  I have never considered myself a blogger, and I had never planned on making one until today.  Nevertheless, I am always open to new experiences, therefore will experiment this foreign form of social networking with open arms.  The only thing I struggled with was a topic.

I contemplated on what interesting subject that I can blog about, and I immediately thought of my experiences on our lovely public transpiration system.  Coming from Jamaica, Queens, that hour long train ride to CCNY always seems to find ways to surprise me in the most unexpected moments.  Anyone who has ever ridden on one of our elegant NYC trains knows exactly what I am talking about.  To whoever will be reading my blog this semester, I hope you find it unique and relatable.  To anybody who has not experienced a train ride in our great city, I hope this brings a glimpse of what you have been missing.