Getting on
and off the local bus must be a regular experience for a regular citizen,
however, being a foreigner in Denmark one might find particular cultural
aspects in passengers’ behavior.
Yes, people
might prefer taking the single seats for the journey and one might think that
this behavior is a sign of “leave me alone/stay away”. On the other hand, have
you noticed that this might be followed by the rule “stand on your right, go on
your left”? and those people might have just taken a single seat because
they’re about to take off soon anyways and standing for a while turns into
sitting in a single seat. In addition, I’ve noticed multiple times groups of
people getting on the bus and sitting in clutches: taking both sides of the bus
and talking to each other as if they were sitting around the table – so how is
that for a “silence is the golden rule” and an unsocial behavior? I very rarely
experienced the time in silence in a bus. More so, whenever I would find myself
lost or in need of some guidance I would just turn to the closest person and if
not him/her then the driver would get me on the right track, most of the times
it would end up turning into a little discussion about the best possible way
for me to reach that place between me, the driver and couple of people who
heard my concerns and joined in.
Aarhus is a
smiley city – it’s even the cities’ logo! And who said smile is a bad approach
to a stranger. It is actually a positive note and kind expression towards a
strange fellow passenger. Moreover, it is a positive signal for a possible open
conversation about weather. I would rather smile in silence than sit with no
face at all.
Danes do
enjoy being private but it works as a respect to others, also I think that
everyone once or twice has felt like staying with his/hers thoughts in the
early morning or after a tiring. Let those people be, there are plenty others
who are ready for an easy chat.
I have more
positive experiences to a negative ones when taking a bus: once I jumped on a
bus, was all scattered, was running late, just managed to jump in, jacket still
unbuttoned, hair still all over, make-up totally ruined because of all the
sweat. Was rushing to take a seat to fix myself for the meeting I had to attend.
So I took a seat and a women sitting in the single seat turn to me and says:
“you look like a very friendly person”. My eyes got big from the amusement and
she continued: “I thought this would be nice for you to know, so decided to tell
you”. My day could not have gotten a better start!
Yes, maybe
letting older people to get seated is not in their culture so much as it is in
Eastern part of Europe, but people are friendly on the bus. They will give old
lady a hand to get on the bus, drivers will wait another second for you to jump
in and will cash your 100kr. bill to the coins, otherwise, give you a ride for
free, people will help mothers with children and the tour will most of the time
end with a bus driver wishing you to have a nice day!
What is
there more to ask for a ride in a regular bus?!
No comments:
Post a Comment