Ride With Me

So I'm sitting here on a train from Leiden to Groningen, it takes about three hours from placer to the other, and I'm wondering why I never wrote about this, considering I'm always riding trains from one city to another, it seems obvious to tell you what the train experience in the Netherlands is all about. So here it is, my thoughts during a long train ride:

Alright, as I write this, announcements are being made about the stops and connections. Of course, these announcements are all in dutch, except when you're arriving at the airport, so I never know what the person is going on about. We could be on our way to Bosnia, and I'd just be sitting there with a smile on my face. :)

Naturally, unless you're some sort of pervert, you'll want to travel without anyone unknown beside you. On some train rides this is possible, but in long ones, such as this one, it's most definitely not.

Right now I'm sitting next to this man who might or might not be a teacher, but by the look of his powerpoint presentations he could be teaching some sort of really advanced medical stuff.

There's already some people standing beside me. Poor things couldn't get a seat and there's still more than ninety minutes left before we get there.

Some read magazines, others newspapers, or the latest bestsellers. A large number of students, like me, do their school readings. I still haven't mastered this ability, I always tend to fall asleep after a while. Some people just stare. They stare at the person in front, if they know them, or at least I hope they know each other, otherwise that would be very annoying.

Personally, when I'm not doing homework on the train, I like to have a little snack, listen to music, update twitter and look around to see what everyone's doing, maybe make up stories about them in my mind. But that's just me.

Some people take interest in me, they stare at my hand and pen moving quickly over the paper. Maybe they're curious as to why I write after looking around, maybe they want to read this; but considering my handwriting isn't getting any better, I doubt they can.

I wonder how many stories could be told about what happens on the trains. How many people met the love of their here. How many ran into an old high-school friend, had a terrible accident, saw the most beautiful full moon or found enough time to reevaluate their lives and decide to change.

And as this train gets closer and closer to it's destination, I can't help but wonder how many miles I will travel on it. How many hours I will spend here. How many stories I will have to tell by the end of my time here.