My First Week of Class and What I've Learned About Public Transportation...

I started school this week. I've been pretty nervous about it, as I think I've mentioned here before.

The main reason I was nervous is the BIG changes that would have to take place regarding my commuting habits. Because of the difference in traffic, driving to and from campus myself just isn't a very good idea. So...since the University gives its students an ID card that serves as a free UTA pass for all forms of public transportation, I decided that I would do that rather than driving.

Do I have a lot of experience with public transportation? NO. However, it is the best option available to me, so I decided to tackle it. I've spent the last several weeks looking up train routes and figuring out the exact timing and found that I would have to transfer trains twice in order to get to campus. Scary? Yes.

Monday morning, I woke up early and got ready for the day. Then I fixed breakfast (i.e. cold cereal) for myself and the chiddlers and made sure they were both dressed and ready to go to my mom's house. Once I was sure that they were properly set up with all that they needed, I said goodbye and headed for the train station.

Once I got there, I paid very careful attention to all of the signs and everything so I wouldn't get on the wrong freaking train and end up in Reno or something. In the end, I did get on the right train and once I got downtown, I half jogged to catch the light rail train that would take me to the first transfer stop so I could get on the other light rail train that would take me to campus. (Confused yet? Me too.)

I was as nervous as a 5-year-old on the first day of Kindergarten. When the light rail train started moving in (what I perceived to be) the wrong direction, I asked the lady that was sitting across from me: "This is the southbound route, right?" She nodded, smiling kindly.

When we got to the transfer station, I had another lady help me know which way I had to go. She was super nice to me, and very patient with the fact that I was so ridiculously nervous. Anyway, I got to campus just fine, and I started walking. I'd looked at the online map of campus, and knew which direction I wanted to go. I started following a sidewalk up the middle of a road, and got just a bit upset when that sidewalk began to get thinner and thinner until it...DISAPPEARED.

So I was walking in the middle of the road. I figured that was a bad idea when I saw all the cars coming toward my face, so I crossed over to another sidewalk and kept walking. Oh, don't worry. That sidewalk narrowed and disappeared too!!!

At this point, I couldn't really turn back and try a different route, so I just kept walking along the narrow curb at the side of the road as the cars kept coming toward me. I got to my building in one piece, and then I instantly headed for the bathroom because I was SWEATING BULLETS. It was freaking hot outside, I'd been walking uphill, AND I had only just escaped a brush with death. I got some cool, wet paper towels and mopped up my face and neck, trying desperately to cool off. As I exited the bathroom and headed for my class, a glorious vision was presented to my eyes. A Coke machine!!! I took advantage of that opportunity as quickly as possible and went to sit in the hall outside my classroom while I drank the sweet elixir of life that is Coke.

When class started, I sat in my desk and listened to my professor talk about the fascinating subject that is Phonetics. I know I'm going to love it as the semester goes on. My professor is super-knowledgeable and you can tell that he really enjoys the subject he teaches.

My next class (Intro. to Communication Sciences and Disorders) was just down the hall, so we all got there about 15 minutes before the professor did. She's really great. Very experienced in the field of Speech and Language Pathology, and she loves her subject, too. I also like our class, as we are all very open and opinionated and we have really great class discussions. My professor loves this, and encourages these discussions as much as possible.

Class got out a few minutes early, so I got a cold water bottle (because I was super-parched) and headed back down to the train station so I could take the exact same route I followed to get to class, just--you know--in reverse.

I got home in one piece, and found Ty and the chiddlers all there waiting for me. (His shift had ended a couple of hours early, so he'd picked them up from my mom's.) I hugged them all, thrilled to be with them again after such a long day away. Then I made a quick dinner and started to wind down.

And that was just DAY ONE!!!

Yesterday, the public transportation thing was nowhere nearly as nerve-wracking as it was on Monday since I knew what to expect. Class was fabulous, as well. More great class discussions, and yes, another Coke.

When I was almost home again after class, Ty called and asked if I was close to home yet. I said I was about five minutes away, and then he said: "Okay, well there's dinner here for you when you get here."

HOW FREAKING AWESOME IS MY HUSBAND? He ordered pizza and had it delivered just minutes before I got home. A perfect end to a fabulous day!

Now, I'm going to go ahead and tell you all a few things that I've learned about public transportation:

1) It's not that weird. A lot of people take public transportation every day.

2) It's easier than you think. Just scan your pass before you get on and then ride the train to where you need to go. Just make sure you know where you are.

3) You are going to experience a LOT of different smells when you get on one of those trains. Some of them are fine, you know, perfumes, aftershave, shampoo, laundry. Then there are those smells that you can ONLY experience on public transit. In just the last week, I've caught a few whiffs of the most extraordinary B.O. that I have ever smelled. I'm not talking about someone who's just had a sweaty day and is headed home for a shower. I'm talking about the kind of B.O. that comes from a lifetime of refusing to use any kind of deodorant or soap. I'm pretty sure that every single hair that used to be inside my nose has been burned away by the smell that was coming off some of these people.

4) There are some amazingly nice people out there. On Wednesday afternoon, as I was heading for class when I witnessed something really...well...impressive. I had just taken my seat on the first leg of my in-city light rail trip, when the seat directly across from me was taken by a young, African American man. He was wearing one of those "wife beaters" and had tattoos all up and down his arms. I kind of nodded to him as he sat down, and then he turned and started talking to his friend across the aisle. His friend was just as muscular and tattooed as he was, and he had long dreadlocks. They both looked like those "tough guy" types. They talked and laughed as we rattled along the streets when we came to the first stop on our route. A few people came on, and one of them was a man who looked nothing short of exhausted and harassed in every way.

The guy with dreadlocks immediately stood up and said: "Man, you look tired. Take my seat, you need to sit down." I was so impressed with this simple gesture, I couldn't help smiling a little to myself. The tired-looking guy found a different seat, but thanked the dreadlocks guy all the same.

A couple of stops later, two women--a young mom and her mother--were trying to get off the train. They had two young kids with them, probably aged 3 and 5, and a small baby. The mother got off the train with the kids, and the grandmother was trying to wrestle a big stroller when the doors closed on her. Dreadlocks Guy immediately jumped up, pushed the button to open the door for her, and carried the stroller off the train before coming back to his seat. I felt tears in my eyes, I was so touched by this guy's genuinely concerned nature. He helped others with absolutely no hesitation. Basically, he single-handedly restored my faith in humanity.

All in all, my first week of class has been great. Very educational, in more ways than one. You'll probably be hearing more about my experiences this semester, so stay tuned.

Anyway, I'm going to go ahead and finish off this ridiculously long post. Thanks for pushing your way through to the end! :)