I have been a commuter for 10 school years. Even though the public transportation companies aren’t my best friends, I have met some of my best friends because of them. It all started when I was twelve and I broke my wrist driving home on my bicycle after class. While I was recovering, I had to take the bus to get to school in time. I discovered a whole new wonderful world on wheels. I fell in love with fellow commuters, was insecure among so many peers, made friends, had conversations with bus drivers and strangers, had young children sit on my lap, helped people in and out or carry things. And last week, we had one of the most amazing things that can happen when you commute: the bus broke down.
Why the heck would I say something like that? Let me defend my opinion. Busses are, at leats to me, like liquid communities. It starts at the platform, where everyone is standing together waiting to get somewhere. It’s unavoidable to pick up random conversations from the people around you and then when they notice, you smile awkwardly. Then comes the inevitable moment where everyone realizes the bus ain’t going to be on time, and you all breathe a sigh of frustration. Everyone waits a little longer, together, and give the bus driver their most annoyed look when he finally arrives. This my dear readers, creates a bond.
Last week, I was listening to two boys talking about a girl they had on Tinder (PS: can someone please explain to me what Tinder is?) and an elderly lady called her husband to say she would bring the groceries. A girl rolled her eyes at me when the bus arrived late, and when the elderly woman with the groceries got on the it, she commented on the bus driver for being late. I stacked my suitcase on top of the one carried another redhead travelling along, and found a window seat for the one-hour drive home. We were on the road less than 10 minutes, when we hit the pavement and one of the doors got busted, which set the security system of the bus into motion. With the security system on, a bus can’t drive. We stood still in the middle of one of the busiest roads leading out of the city, blocking all other public transport.
It’s amazing how fast people react in this situation. Within two seconds, a random guy developed into a leader, escorting everyone off the bus and onto the pavement and helping the elderly passengers to a nearby bench. The boy next to me turned into an engineer, trying to figure out how we could balance the bus so that we could slide it off the pavement and get it back into motion. Four men took upon them the task to close the jammed doors to de-activate the safety system. Together with another girl, I helped a women keep her kids close and away from the damaged bus. The elderly lady with the groceries was grumbling, and a man reading a book tried to calm her down. Not much could be changed about the situation anyway. Everyone did something, and everyone started having conversations. We stood there for an hour, on a random pavement, but it didn’t really matter. We were fine, we were bonding.
After an hour, both a mechanic and police had been on the scene and it became clear to us that the bus was going to be towed. No matter how hard our engineer and the other men tried their best, nothing they tried seemed to help. Me and the other redhead went onto the bus to pick up our suitcases and left the scene, with a trail of other stranded passengers behind us. At the back of the traffic jam, caused by our bus, was another one heading home which I flagged down to stop so us poor stranded souls could finally go home. I ended up next to a women who had just missed our bus, and told her this was one time she probably was happy she missed it. Along the way, people from the stranded bus got off and every time someone vanished, there was a nod, a smile and or even a waving hand. When I finally got off, one of the men trying to fix the doors took a bow for me. Busses are liquid communities, they form and dissolve in a short time span but they have the capacity to make your day a little brighter.
I may have lost one and a half hour of my study-time which caused my blog post about D’makup to be delayed, but I still smile when I think of the conversations that were had that day. Sometimes, I like it when public transportation messes up. It’s how I’ve met some of my dearest friends, and why I still prefer taking the bus over taking the car for commuting. End of my plea.
And in case you’re still not convinced: We saw Matthias Schoenaerts while waiting. Check that oooout!
you look very beautiful baby., i love your smile!!!
kisses
i have a new outift in my blog
http://www.showroomdegarde.blogspot.com
Leuk outfit! En leuk verhaal ook 😉
Loving the stripes! Alex
tobebeautifulingodseyes.blogspot.com
love this look!! that top is so cute!
xxoo,
nikki
http://www.dreaminneon.blogspot.com
Its the little things right?! I love this post!
Amai zo’n schoon verhaal. Echt kei goe geschreven!
Enja inderdaad de bus nemen is op da vlak zeker een aanrader!
Your outfit is simple and effortless, I like it 🙂
I don’t really understand Tinder either….it uses facebook to find people close to you that are interested in dating or something. But I was long married when it was invented so I’m really out of the loop.
<3 Daryl
Unlost
Current Post: Foodie Travel – Let’s Talk About Buffalo Wings.
Love that casual outfit, the statement earrings are so nice with it! 🙂
It’s good you made the best out of a bad situation with the bus trip too! I remember last time our bus broke down, they made the bus after us stop to pick us up….but the problem was that bus was already half full. There was not enough space for 2 bus loads of people. Lots of grouchy people that day!
Away From Blue
Yes, I met my best friend on a bus. Miss those bus days!! And this outfit is so chic and perfectly casual. Really lovely + I’m a huge fan of stripes! xoxo
Huh, I love somewhere where there is no public transportation, so this was an interesting inside look. Also- cute look!
haha jeetje wat jij allemaal meemaakt met het openbaar vervoer 😀 maar wel een supermooie outfit weer 🙂
Leuk verhaal! Ik neem ook de trein naar het werk, soms kan het ook heel vervelend zijn 🙂 Mooie look, ik vind je haar ook mooi zo in een lage staart
Mooi! Zeg waar is deze foto genomen? Ik geef toch wel voorkeur aan een auto, trouwens, want ik word reisziek.. dus dan liever in de auto dan een bus.. xD
Zo’n leuk en mooi verhaal 🙂 Ik haat de bus eigenlijk, maar das misschien omdat ‘mijn bus’ meestal vol zit met nogal marginale verschijningen. En zalig dat je Matthias Schoenaerts hebt gezien! Ik zag hem ook eens in Gent en amai, mooie jongen 😉
Leuk artikel weer!
Je ziet er zo mooi uit 🙂
;Xx julia
Tof geschreven 😀 en mooie oorbellen!
Mooie look en leuk verhaal! Ik had er nog niet op die manier naar gekeken. Je hebt wel een punt maar soms neem ik toch liever gewoonweg de auto of de fiets. Ik ben dan wel weer dikke fan van trams ^^
En je had me al overtuigd, maar Matthias Shoenaerts zien… Nice! :p
x Aurélie
Zo leuk! zo een gekke situaties kunnen echt een band creëren. Hopelijk had de mevrouw met boodschappen geen ijs gekocht :p
Leuk verhaal, hier ook dagelijks de trein. Mooie look ook xx
Love this post! So true about public transportation
This post made me smile. I love it when you can form a bond with perfect strangers. Love this simple and chic outfit, too!
Supermooi geschreven! Hoewel ik het openbaar vervoer echt vreselijk vind om te nemen, is het voor mij ook iets speciaals. Mijn vriend en ik hebben elkaar namelijk op de bus naar school leren kennen 😀
Leuke outfit, je oorbellen en top zijn echt mooi!
X Sara
Oooh mooi! Ik hou van jeans en streepjes
Love the post, people should thing about this more when on the road! Thanks for reminding me 🙂
<3
Mijn ervaringen met de bus zijn nogal erg (iemand probeerde mijn haar in brand te steken, iemand duwde mij van de bus bij een halte,…) dus nu geef ik toch maar de voorkeur aan de auto of tram 😀
Die laatste zin 😀 Wat een verhaal, ik neem in het vervolg met u de bus denk ik, ik heb alleen maar grumpy mensen op mijn bussen :p
Naomi, x
Meestal zijn mijn bus-ervaringen meer iets zoals: een bus die gewoon niet rijdt in de midden van de winter en dan sta je daar in de ijzige kou/wind/regen met niemand om iets tegen te zeggen. Jouw bus-verhaal klinkt zoveel beter 😀