Another Quigley Down Under

Mass transit has become far too much a part of me this past week and it was all kicked off with the longest plane ride of my life. Arriving in Australia I had the harsh awakening to a fact that I previously had not considered, driving on the other side of the road. It was something I knew but forgot to acknowledge.

On multiple occasions I have found myself being the only one looking left first, then right. Luckily there haven't been any really close calls with regards to my life and crossing the street. I am getting better at it but I still find myself with that urge deep inside to look left, then right.

Also, Gary, my roommate, is kind enough to drive us almost everywhere we go. My heart skips a beat every time, EVERY time we make a left hand turn into what I assume is oncoming traffic.  I hope I get used to this soon.

My regular mode of transport, however, is the train (the epitome of public transportation). Humanity in a sardine car, hurtling itself down the tracks. I spend about 2 hours of my day on the train. It is an hour into the city and an hour home.

Like anywhere else in the world, you can find Melbourne's finest on the Metro. It’s the regular crowd you would expect to find headed into the city. Business men mixed in with blue collar workers, young and old, thin, fat, short, tall, and of course smelly, yup, they are all on the train.

There is one demographic that I find particularly surprising. Those would be the students. There sure are a lot of kids at the station. Of course, they thin out by the time we actually make it to the city but at the station where I board the train they out number the adults about 11 to 1. Outside of that its pretty much everything you might expect out of a metropolitan train system. I must say, I have yet to be groped! (More than I can say for the commuter rail in Sao Paulo, but that is another story for another time.)