Sardines

Whats worse than being a sardine in a can? Being in the subte (subway) in Buenos Aires at hora pico (rush hour). Hahahaha, sorry, I know, I have told a lot of the negative things about BA, but I can't not tell you about this. I have never seen anything like it. Its really unbelievable. One day I took the subway in the afternoon rush hour and people were literally pushing people into the subway so they could get on too. I dont mean nice positioning of the body to make your self fit, I mean like the way you shove your clothes into your suitcase when you have packed too much and then you sit on top of it. Well, no one was sitting on top of me, but I was smashed firmly into the bodies of several men I didnt know. Everyone was, so I didnt worry too much. I didnt have anything to hold on to, as many others, so when the subway started and jostled around I had no choice but too lean into the people around me. At one point it was so bad that I started laughing. The people around me started laughing too. It relieved the tension a bit.

One other startling thing was a small robbery that happened on the subway. Many locals warned us about the schemes that people use to try to pickpocket you, like squirting something on you, telling you that you have something on you and then offering to help you clean it off. This time it was something new. One guy started retching on the subway and everyone pushed as far away from his as possible. I guess he was working with another guy because one of the guys I was with said someone reached for his pocket but his hand was covering it. The other girl realized her glasses were gone when she got home. They created so much confusion that people werent paying attention to themselves. They were just trying not to get thrown up on. I actually didnt even think about the possibility that they were trying to rob people. I just kept having flashbacks of the movie Outbreak. Eeek!